People have been stockpiling tamiflu and relenza, the 2 drugs that treat Swine Flu. Pharmacies that fill one tamiflu script every week are now filling 25 a day. The problem is there is a growing shortage of these meds and nobody is sick yet. People have them sitting on their shelves to protect every member of their family. Now if we have outbreaks especially in poorer communities with out easy medical access and funds, there will be no medicine to treat them. This can worsen an epidemic as disease spreads much more quickly in this type environment. Those privileged people who have bought up the meds also can cause additional harm by taking it unnecessarily and breeding resistance.
Why does this matter? Hiney flu is going out with a whimper not a bang. But the flu is a squirrelly bug. It may have shifted to something harmless as a kitten, but can mutate into a tiger and hit the world again next winter. This time we may have nothing to treat it.
Who's to blame. I hold my colleagues largely responsible. Those who are unable to or refuse to say "no" to unreasonable requests by their patients. It is a sad commentary on our professional ethics.
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