Flu Deaths Hit Epidemic Level in U.S.

[ethics]

Well, it's official (http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/466668?mpid=23262&WebLogicSession=P1nrc1OoNGV6oxLMOMOZo04557hqK1cVqf4u1RtlyWNp 2YGptUuZ|9220975365825728289/184161395/6/7001/7001/7002/7002/7001/-1). My own experience (and I am still alive!) notwithstanding:

The flu is widespread in almost every U.S. state and the number of deaths due to pneumonia and influenza is now at an epidemic level, federal health officials said on Wednesday.
Health departments in 45 states, New York City and the District of Columbia reported widespread influenza activity for the week ending Dec. 20, according to the latest data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Pneumonia and influenza accounted for 7.8% of all deaths reported for the period, hitting what the CDC described as an "epidemic threshold" for the period.

[Coriolis]

The lack of availablity of flu shots sure hasn't helped the matter.

I've just spent the last 4 days battling to keep my kid's temperatures under control, and now my wife is bedridden. So far I've been lucky (knocks loudly on wood)!

[cdw]

ooh...speedy recovery to all in the household!!

[tke711]

I hope everyone feels better soon Cor!!

As for this being an epidemic...I don't know. I guess I've just been so desensitized to media hype in this country that I'm always the skeptic.

Sure, they ran out of vaccine. But only after a record amount of American's at already taken it.

Sure, the CDC didn't "guess" completely correctly with this years recipe.

Sure, there are more cases of flu this year than last.

However, the influenza virus is much like the economy over time. There are peaks and valleys. They are nothing new, and will continue for ever.