Anyone else sniff a conspiracy ..?

[MrsMaxwell]

I am normally very anti “conspiracy theories” BUT anyone else reckon it’s a bit weird we have all these weird strains and high volumes of people with the flu this year?

What with Jeremy Cunt wanting to privatise the NHS and all

I love a good conspiracy but this doesn't sound likely to me. Developing a strong influenza strain and somehow unleashing it on the public, just to aide the privatisation of the nhs. It's a lot of trouble and needless. The nhs is already struggling enough that if the powers that be wanted, they could push a failing, stretched nhs narrative in the media strongly enough to plant the seed of support for privatisation.

If you suggested this flu was a practise run at spreading deadly diseases through the population and seeing how they spread to push population control I'd totally tip my tin foil hat to you

Realistically though, influenza happens every year. Sometimes it's milder, sometimes it's stronger.

OP, I said this to my friend last week about a conspiracy! Not that they'd released strains of super flu but that the huge media coverage was part of something. Would be convenient for their plans!

Yes yabu.

Yes - the media coverage I guess is the point

His punchable face watching Tessa Jowell today

Nobody tell OP about the 1918 flu pandemic.

Isn't this year's flu strain 'Australian flu' which started over there and has found it's way here as these things do? Seems like a lot of trouble for Jeremy Hunt to go to!

Free holiday?

Did you pay attention at school,in particular science?bit about disease and vaccines
Do you go much for book learning?

Doubt it...

I dunno about sniffing a conspiracy, but according to MN lately all anyone can smell is a womans minge from 10 feet away

Too much of a risk from political point of view - flu will arguably show NHS at its best, everyone mucking in, patients saying how wonderful staff are even with the strain.

Also unfortunately for all politicians it is now obvious that social care, currently already provided mostly privately but financed through tax and individuals (at least in England) must be properly financed by government either nationally or locally and the public can see it. The councils of all parties including conservative can't hold back explaining the pressure caused by cuts.

The hospitals/nursing/doctors/care homes all say it. More people know someone elderly who is a "bed blocker". (horrible phrase).

Oh for God’s sake. I have very little time for Jeremy Hunt, but he isn’t a Bond villain developing killer viruses in his secret lab under a volcano.

I dunno about sniffing a conspiracy, but according to MN lately all anyone can smell is a womans minge from 10 feet away

I think I missed that thread

i think you're grasping at straws. YABU and a little silly to even think this could be possible.

Op, it's winter. In winter people get flu and a relatively small (in comparison to the population of the world) number of the elderly and ill die of associated complications. This is not news. Neither is it anything to do with Jeremy Hunt. It's how nature takes out the weakest. She's not sentimental.

Believe me... I work in A&E and it’s a MASSIVE problem this year. Absolutely huge. Unless the labs are making up test results there is no conspiracy behind it

It's flu. Bad strains happen.

But surely it would just hit us then? No way would Europe/Australia and America be in on it

OP, his name is Jeremic Hunt.

I heard James Naughtie that time. Oh how I laughed.

Well, I'm in France. No NHS to worry about here, but the flu epidemic is just as bad as in the UK, if not worse!

I actually said this last week. Tongue in cheek though.

Yes - I wasn’t being deadly serious.....

Can you elaborate? Do you think Jeremy Hunt himself concocted a new strain of flu, travelled to australia, and released it there?

FFS.