WHO Did Good on Flu

In its editorial, Nature says the World Health Organization (WHO) and other agencies deserve praise for their (albeit imperfect) handling of the “potentially disastrous” H1N1 influenza pandemic threat. “Throughout the crisis, they generally walked the difficult line between hype and dangerous understatement with aplomb,” is Nature’s assessment. It admits mistakes were made. “But those who handled the world’s response to H1N1 deserve better than false accusations of industry self-interest.” “Although vaccines proved hard to make and their distribution could have been improved, the level of coordination between various bodies and researchers is heartening.”