Current Flu season numbers

[Tommy T.]

I got the flu a few times. Last time I got it - maybe back in 1985? - I was also sick in bed for at least two weeks. I am sure I developed pneumonia too. After that nasty time, I always get flu shots every year. And this year I also got the five year pneumonia shot. I never want to be sick with either again.

[GeoffH]

7 hours ago, earthdome said:

The most common flu vaccine is produced using eggs in a way that concentrates whatever I was allergic to as a child. I have never taken a flu shot since then 

 

For the 2019-2020 flu season, there are two vaccines licensed for use that are manufactured without the use of eggs and are considered egg-free; Flublok Quadrivalent and Flucelvax Quadrivalent.

If you change your mind then either of those could suit (ask your doctor of course).

 

 

[Marvin Boggs]

9 deaths in the US and the headlines are reaching Circus proportions.  I'm going to start calling this "Corona-pocalpyse".  

This morning I read about an event last October called "Event 201", in which a pandemic exercise was undergone to predict and formulate responses.  What do you know... it was almost exactly like the Corona virus.  

Meanwhile, influenza doesn't just kill old people but kids as well.  And the news / media response is.....crickets.  

 

Its like we are watching a bad movie.  "Last Train from Wuhan" haha.    

 

 

[GeoffH]

1 hour ago, Marvin Boggs said:

Meanwhile, influenza doesn't just kill old people but kids as well.  And the news / media response is.....crickets.  

I think by comparing numbers rather than percentages you're missing the point.  The real concern IMO isn't what it's doing now, it's later.

If it becomes endemic and seasonal (like influenza) then it would be killing 10 times as many people each season as the flu (at a minimum) and thats what people should keep in mind (and that's assuming that a vaccine is developed before it becomes endemic).

The delaying tactics like the border closures are really only meant to slow the spread of the virus and give the medical researches time to develop one (maybe 12 to 18 months?).

[Marvin Boggs]

Some updated CDC numbers:

 

Infections 

COVID-19: Approximately 113,579 cases worldwide; 607 cases in the U.S. as of Mar. 9, 2020. 

Flu: Estimated 1 billion cases worldwide; 9.3 million to 45 million cases in the U.S. per year. 

Deaths 

COVID-19: Approximately 3,995 deaths reported worldwide; 22 deaths in the U.S., as of Mar. 9, 2020. 

Flu: 291,000 to 646,000 deaths worldwide; 12,000 to 61,000 deaths in the U.S. per year. 

The COVID-19 situation is changing rapidly. Since this disease is caused by a new virus, people do not have immunity to it, and a vaccine may be many months away. Doctors and scientists are working on estimating the mortality rate of COVID-19, but at present, it is thought to be higher than that of most strains of the flu.