H1N1 News and Analysis

Like all health crises, H1N1 has political ramifications. Like other diseases, the virus disproportionately affects the oppressed. Recent studies show that people of color constitute a majority of those who have become critically ill with the disease in Canada, with Indigenous people in particular making up 25% of those who have had to be admitted to Intensive Care Units, despite their only making up 4% of the people living in "Canada".

Following a series of blog posts i wrote about H1N1 in the summer of 2009, i was asked to give a brief presentation about the disease and other health inequalities at this year's Anti-Colonial Thanksgiving at Montreal's Native Friendship Center. In the course of researching this presentation i amassed quite a lot of links to useful information not only about ths virus, but also about medical racism and the connection between poverty and illness in Canada and elsewhere.

This page has been set up not only to provide analysis about the unfolding H1N1 crisis, but also to provide links to these resources which may be of use to people trying to learn more about this or other health crises.