VICTORIA – The afternoon public health clinic was already doing a steady business when I arrived on a recent weekday around 3 p.m. to get my H1N1 influenza vaccination.

With H1N1-related headlines and hospital admissions dwindling almost to none, I was surprised to see the continued demand for the shot, including families with pre-school children lining up with me. One of the unusual things about the latest version of this ever-evolving disease is its preference for younger people, and there was considerable urgency last fall to get pregnant women and children protected along with the chronically ill.

Since then it’s become clear that H1N1 influenza or “swine flu” has swept over North America faster than expected, and – in its current mutation – it’s milder than was feared. 

TV typically over-hyped the danger when the World Health Organization declared it a “pandemic,” and now armchair experts use 20-20 hindsight to call it an over-reaction that B.C. ordered shots for all four million residents.

At a wrap-up briefing last week, a weary provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall addressed the most popular conspiracy theory among the poorly informed public: WHO was in cahoots with “Big Pharma” (in Canada’s case, vaccine contractor Glaxo Smith Klein) to exaggerate the danger of H1N1 and cash in.

Kendall noted that the 2009 pandemic turned out to be similar to the 1957 and 1968 influenza peaks, rather than the deadly 1918 “Spanish flu” that killed 20 million people. We know that now. We did not know it when H1N1 came out of Mexico last April and raced around the world.

How poorly informed is the public? A classic illustration was provided Nov. 3 by B.C. Lions coach Wally Buono. At that point the city media were getting bored with the modest H1N1 body count and seized on the fact that some sports teams tried to get shots ahead of priority risk groups.

No one in the sporting media batted an eye when Buono assured them that no, the Lions hadn’t scooped any vaccine. The team tried to get some of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu to treat anyone who might get sick, but was told healthy pro athletes weren’t eligible for that either.

We just take other measures, Buono explained, such as to “educate the players” on not sharing water bottles. It’s the same to control “regular flu,” you know, diarrhea and vomiting. 

Memo to Coach Buono and sports reporters: Diarrhea and vomiting are signature symptoms of gastroenteritis, an unrelated group of viral infections that is commonly and misleadingly referred to as “stomach flu.”

These viral infections tend to be short-lived, leading to the equally inaccurate popular term “24-hour flu.” (Employers will also be familiar with “Monday morning flu” and “26-ounce flu.”) “Regular” seasonal influenza, like H1N1, is primarily a respiratory illness. It kills hundreds of frail people every winter. Until you comprehend this basic distinction, please don’t attempt to “educate” anyone else.

I wonder if some folks even grasp the difference between a germ and a virus. This applies particularly to people who spend their research time on conspiracy theories.

Essentially, this version of H1N1 turned out to be a giant fire drill for mass immunization. Here are some of its achievements.

It was the first time in history a vaccine was produced and delivered while a pandemic was still going on.

Many people learned how to cough, sneeze and wash their hands properly.

Calling in sick became more acceptable, at least for those who are genuinely sick.

This vaccine might protect you when H1N1 comes back. And it will be back.