Have you ever been frustrated by your local meteorologist’s forecast when they incorrectly predict the weather? It’s particularly challenging for those who reside in cold weather climates, because you typically prepare for hazardous conditions only to discover that things are sometimes bad – or worse – than originally predicted by the weatherman.

There’s no other demographic that feels the brunt of incorrectly predicting inclement weather than the elderly. They are the first to panic and scramble for a way to use their fixed income to purchase food and worry about ever being able to leave their home again. But, this is weather, and I think we can all say that the effects are temporary, even though the height of a crisis would make you believe otherwise.

So you can probably imagine the degree of concern among the elderly, not to mention parents, children and concerned citizens last year when all we heard was how many people were going to die from the swine flu. There wasn’t a newspaper, broadcast or teleprompter speech that didn’t have everyone running for cover.

I know you remember the time but may be trying to ignore it as a way to keep the superstitious bugs away from reigniting the crisis. But, I’m not going to ignore it because this is how I remember it: People running down the streets wearing beekeeper hats while searching for pig flu vaccines! Cop cars were turned over and dumpsters were on fire. There was chaos in the streets!!

Well, clearly I’m sensationalizing the moment, but, if you recall, this was the picture that was framed for us by the mainstream media and, more alarming, the White House.

In August of last year, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) published a report estimating that H1N1 could “cause between 30,000 and 90,000 deaths in the United States,” just in the fall of 2009!! That’s a monumental number and one that raised the anxiety level of each and every American. Everyone thought this was the 21st-century version of the bubonic plague!

But it wasn’t even close. Last month, the Centers for Disease Control reported that an estimated 8,330 to 17,160 sadly passed from H1N1 since the outbreak started in April 2009. In addition, the CDC stated that through Jan. 16 of this year, 183,000 to 378,000 Americans were hospitalized due to H1N1 symptoms. The PCAST report projected “as many as 1.8 million U.S. hospital admissions” as a result of the virus to occur just in the fall of 2009.

Please don’t misunderstand me; I’m pleased that the real numbers came in much lower than expected. My concern is how people in power can cause crippling harm by alarming citizens to a point that they truly believe the end is near. So, being a cynical person, I can’t help but wonder: Was there an ulterior motive in causing so much stress and anxiety?

Of course, the answer is yes! The height of the swine flu epidemic happened conveniently during the time of talks surrounding healthcare reform. Was there any chance the White House elevated concerns on purpose as to force the fact that “if everyone had healthcare coverage, they would be treated – and cured – from this terrible flu”?

I think so. After all, AIDS, cancer and heart disease continue to take way more lives than H1N1 ever did, or ever will, yet the White House knows that it needs an immediate epidemic, which has a short fuse, if it wants to stress the sudden want of providing health coverage for 31 million to 45 million uninsured Americans.

The question now is what’s next? What will be the new health scare that will cause everyone to turn their attention to treatment, vaccines and funeral homes? My guess is we’ll hear more about the swine later this year as the president decides to reach into his bag of tricks and attempts to manipulate the public. Also, look for his fellow Dems who are facing losses in the mid-term elections to jump on the bandwagon. After all, fear is a strong emotion.

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