The Politics of Medicine and the Global Governance of Pandemic Influenza

Abstract

While still significant, the 2009 H1N1 (A) influenza pandemic was generally viewed as comparatively mild in contrast to past influenza pandemics. Even so, the conventional response of many governments to protect their populations against the threat from the H1N1 virus was to ensure adequate vaccine production and/or access to supplies of vaccines and antiviral medications. In this article, I examine the influence of biomedical knowledge (and the professionals that wield it) in determining the acceptable and rational limits of influenza public policy from 1918 to today. Particular attention is given to the role that medical practitioners have played in shaping post-World War II influenza policy and governance structures, together with the development, deployment, and political effect of more recent biomedical techniques-such as evidence-based medicine-in reinforcing the importance attached to influenza vaccines and antivirals. The article concludes by discussing how the intense focus on pharmaceutical-based solutions reflects a particular view of biomedicine that has had serious political implications in distorting global health governance arrangements, and I argue that only by unpacking these structures and revealing the political authority in play can alternative policy responses more appropriate to a wider proportion of humanity be considered.

The influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on asset-price discovery: Testing the case of Chinese informational asymmetry

“…To date a number of substantial effects have been identified with regards to the contagion effects of COVID-19, particularly those evident in gold and cryptocurrency markets ( Corbet, Larkin, & Lucey, 2020 ); and side-effects relating to name association ( Corbet, Hou, Hu, Lucey, & Oxley, 2020 ). Otherwise, related research is quite sparse with the exception of that relating to control and continuity ( Kamradt-Scott, 2013 ; Kamradt-Scott, 2015 ; Sadique et al, 2007 ; Weiss, 2012 ), the effects of pandemics, as measured through swine flu of 2008/2009 on tourism ( Page, Song, & Wu, 2012 ), and tracing the conceptual entanglement of financial and biological contagion ( Peckham, 2013 ). In the following research, we focus on three distinct periods of analysis to consider the pre-COVID-19 phase; the China-only-COVID-19 phase; and the international transmission phase of COVID-19, to identify evidence of both contagion effects and price discovery.…”

A review of institutional response and Covid-19 pandemic risk communication in regional autonomy system in Indonesia

“…The socio-culture of the community also determines how the local community interacts with its environment socially. Evidence in previous research concerning patterns of local responses to outbreaks, of culture, and patterns of community organization revealed in the network of local ties between organizations and their conventional workings [1], [34], [40]. This situation indicates that local authorities' role in community behavior needs to be encouraged and prepared carefully.…”

“…The reinfection of previously polio-free areas south of the country occurred [2]. Empiric evidence in influenza pandemic in 2009, in most cases the government will responses aligned with the recommendation from organization such as WHO and adhered to the recommendation of medical experts and best practice guidelines for pandemic cases [1]. However, strengthening the country capacity system is also important in preventing and containing the spread of the pandemic; otherwise, pandemic management guidelines will not have a significant effect.…”

“…On the contrary, developing countries such as Indonesia that are still proceeding in a decentralized governance system have extraordinary challenges in coordination with the local government, particularly when an imbalance in local government capacity occurs. When an influenza pandemic emerges, the lesson that can be learned is that many countries are not ready to anticipate it because of the unpreparedness of the health system in their country to prevent the spread of outbreaks that occur [1], [2].…”

Fighting Flu

“…By 2005, anxiety that another pandemic was imminent reached fever pitch, provoking the creation of new international coordinating agencies such as the United Nations system influenza coordinator, and the allocation of billions in new funding to international organizations like the WHO and the World Bank to strengthen global preparedness. 102 Governments set about exercising contingency plans and establishing national stockpiles of influenza vaccines and antiviral medications, contributing to supply shortages, while leaders of international organizations such as the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund published reports and delivered speeches that described the ''gravity of this threat'' from influenza. 103 In some contexts, the threat of an influenza pandemic was even identified as a more serious risk than a terrorist attack.…”