The World Health Organization and the CDC class Tamiflu as an essential drug and many countries have stockpiled the drug at great expense. However, in a recent article in the Public Library of Science, this premise is being challenged. Roche Pharmaceuticals has refused to release the scientific research related to this question. The public is paying for stock piling but has no data proving that Tamiflu prevents pneumonia or saves lives. The data we do have shows that Tamiflu shortens the course of the illness by 1/2 - 1 day. The drug company provided no convincing reasons for withholding the research data.
Donald Rumsfeld and some of his friends own stock in Tamiflu...they have been instrumental for its tremendous sales. There are also a myriad of side effects that include symptoms like the flu that include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, anaphylaxis, hemorrhagic colitis, neurological problems, hallucinations, and suicide.