25 January 2013, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting flu cases in all 50 U.S. states, and at least 37 children have died. Remember, what the CDC reports is delayed as they have to wait for state officials to report in, and state officials have to wait for local health reports.
CDC also reporting that the percentage of deaths has exceeded official epidemic levels. Last week it was 9.8%, the CDC’s official epidemic level is 7.3%. The CDC does not track the number of adults who die, but compares the percentage of flu related deaths to other causes of death.
40 people have died in Indiana, 13 this past week.
In the Gem State of Idaho, 15 people have died since the start of the official flu season on 01 October 2012. Two of those people who died were not residents of Idaho.
The Washington Health Department reporting increasing flu deaths: “We’ve had 17 laboratory confirmed deaths in Washington this season and 15 of them were 70 and older.”-Donn Moyer, Health Department.
So Far 11,000 people in Massachusetts tested positive for flu, 20 have died. Yet, health officials claim the flu has peaked, then again maybe not as hospitals in Boston are still seeing hundreds of flu patients per day: “It does seem to have peaked here, but there are still a lot of sick people out there. Far more than last year, probably more than we’ve seen since H1N1.”-Jim Heffernan, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
17 people have died in Connecticut.
In California, San Diego County continues to see people die from flu. Eight deaths last week brings the total to 14. Interestingly state health officials are still not including San Diego County deaths in their state count, which currently stands at five!?
Schools in Tennessee closed down. The Obion County School System has closed for the second time this flu season. One day there were as many as 541 students out sick.
Oklahoma health officials reporting a doubling of deaths in the past week. 14 people are now dead. Several grade schools were closed.
Arkansas reporting 19 deaths.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health reports a 27% increase in cases last week. Local drug stores are reporting shortages of flu vaccines and Tamiflu. At least 40 people have died.
State health officials in New Jersey have linked the deaths of four children to the flu. Hackensack University Medical Center closed their ER because they were swamped with flu patients! Health officials say the H3N2 flu strain is worse this year because people infected with it are developing pneumonia much more easily. There are also reports that hospitals are having a hard time getting a hold of Tamiflu.
Data out of New York shows 20,000 people sick, more than 5,348 hospitalized. Quinnipiac University announced that any student sick with flu will be banned from school, unless their homes are more than 200 miles from school, then they’ll be quarantined in empty apartments in the Complex residence hall! In the City of New York workers who do not get paid sick leave held a rally to bring attention to the elites that they can not afford to take off work because they’re sick. This after the elitist mayor of New York City declared a health emergency.
According to the Community Service Society, more than 1 million people in New York City work jobs that do not have paid sick leave!
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 43% of workers in the United States have no health coverage!
Even with that fact, the three biggest insurers in the U.S., UnitedHealth Group, WellPoint, and Aetna, are already complaining about how much they’ve paid out to doctors and hospitals. They claim they’ve paid out $1 million USD more than last year, and the flu season is only half way done.
Despite reports of flu vaccine shortages, the number of people getting flu shots is no different than last year. For the 2011-12 flu season 47.6% of the population got flu shots, and according to the CDC it looks like it will be close to the same for the 2012-13 flu season.
Now how about that flu shot? As I’ve tried to point out before, each year’s vaccines are short and behind the times: “These experts at the CDC say, OK, I think it’s going to be strains one, two and three this year, so that’s what we’re going to make the vaccine protect people against. But it’s a guessing game; so if it’s one, two and five and you get the vaccine, you’re not protected against three and five.”-Brian MacDonald, University at Buffalo microbiology and immunology department
In fact, there is a growing number of medical staff refusing to get the flu shot! One hospital (Montefiore Medical Center) in New York City reported that 50% of their staff have refused to take the vaccine!
Medical researchers are not only using Google to predict the severity of influenza, but now they’re using Twitter. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University are tracking how many Twitter messages are from people complaining about being sick.