ATLANTA -- U.S. health officials said H1N1 virus could strike up to 40% of Americans over the next two years and as many as several hundred thousand could die if a vaccine campaign and other measures aren't successful.
Those estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mean about twice the number of people who usually get sick in a normal flu season would be struck by swine flu. Officials said those projections would drop if a new vaccine is ready and widely available, as U.S. officials expect.
The U.S. may have as many as 160 million doses of swine flu vaccine available sometime in October, and U.S. tests of the new vaccine are to start shortly, federal officials said this week.
The infection estimates are based on a flu pandemic from 1957, which killed nearly 70,000 in the U.S. but wasn't as severe as the infamous Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-19. But influenza is notoriously hard to predict. The number of deaths and illnesses would drop if the pandemic peters out or if efforts to slow its spread are successful, said CDC spokesman Tom Skinner.
A CDC official said the agency came up with the estimate last month, but it was first disclosed in an interview with the Associated Press.
"Hopefully, mitigation efforts will have a big impact on future cases," Mr. Skinner said.
In a normal flu season, about 36,000 people die from flu and its complications, according to American Medical Association estimates. Because so many more people are expected to catch the new flu, the number of deaths over two years could range from 90,000 to several hundred thousand, the CDC calculated. Again, that is if a new vaccine and other efforts fail.
The World Health Organization said as many as 2 billion people could become infected over the next two years -- nearly one-third of the world population. The estimates look at potential impacts over a two-year period because past flu pandemics have occurred in waves over more than one year.
WHO officials think the world is in the early phase of the new pandemic.
First identified in April, H1N1 flu has likely infected more than 1 million Americans, the CDC said, with many of those suffering mild cases never reported. There have been 302 deaths and nearly 44,000 reported cases, according to numbers released Friday morning.
Because the H1N1 virus is new, most people haven't developed an immunity against it. So far, most of those who have died from it in the U.S. have had other health problems, such as asthma.
The virus has caused an unusual number of serious illnesses in teens and young adults; seasonal flu usually is toughest on the elderly and very young children.
New H1N1 flu illnesses have erupted through the summer, which is also unusual, though cases were less widespread this month. Officials fear an explosion of cases in the fall, when children return to school and the weather turns cold, making the virus easier to spread.
Please pope, no fear rhetoric. The flu is the flu. We have been through them before and we will go through them again.
The liberal fear tactic just leads the sheople into thinking they can't take care of themselves through common sense....hence more government involvement.
wash your hands cover your mouth take tylenol drink plenty of fluids eat lots of chix soup and stay in bed till it's gone!
No need for some government intervention here....geeeeezzzzzzz!!!!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Exactly! Keep the government out of and off of my body...please! And don't try to scare me into thinking otherwise!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
i did not say "you need a flu shot" i did not say "have the health dept visit your house"
just discussion
the reality is most citizens have trouble with
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It's called "personal responsibility"
and their lack of "personal responsibility" has an affect on my life
like if you didn't have a "flu buddy" and decided to bring your infected self to price chopper/gaberials/hanaford or where ever and needlessly affected the lives of countless others just to get
Quoted Text
tylenol fluids chix soup
or
take out 1/4 to 2/5 of our police force and my taxes up for overtime - because you chose not to discuss a subject and have a plan
overall "What a Waste(WAW)"
you can tell who's from a town that makes up .0004% of the world population and from a country that makes up 4.53% of the worlds population
Here are a couple of pics from a city where the entire population of our town fits in to One Square Mile
We all should be better global citizens - them to
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This is all liberal fear tactic bs at it's best. There was already a so called 'swine flu outbreak', remember, just a few months ago. Not that bad was it? But nooooo.......it's gonna be even WORSE the next time! Hogwash!
You are clearly a supporter of the obamacare proposed new government controlled health care, huh? Hmmmmm....swine flue...now there's something the libs can build on!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Well while you are paying for your own, the liberal dems will have you paying for everyone else's too! AND for all of the swine flu vaccines that they are going to scare you into taking. IT IS ALL A FRAUD! And you can thank your liberal dems! K?
While you're at it there mr/s pope....check out what the new government health care has in store for the 'end of life care' people. Ya know....senior citizens! SCARY!!!
If it ever passes, and God forbid if it does, you might as well bend over and kiss your a** good-bye.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
It will be interesting in this years election, to ask each local candidate EXACTLY what they think of obamas health care beast! hmmmmmmm.......
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Healthcare via government is an oxymoron......leadership by a government is what is lacking.....
A plan,,,,sure,,,,faith in it??? hope in it????
healthcare and the fear of the 'lack of healthcare' are the darkages revisited.....folks need to know straight up that NO GOVERNMENT/PERSON IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR WELL BEING.....they are responsible for preventing anarchy/chaos
we need to stop being good snakeoil salesmen and start being leaders from the inside of our homes to the outside.....
leaders not sheeple.....
only the 10% at the top like sheeple......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
It's all nothing more than fear rhetoric. Guess what? We will all get sick. AND the shocker is....we'll all die too!
So please mommy and daddy government, supply me with a 'green home', a car that won't crash and kill me, food that won't harm me, pills that will heal me. And I promise I will work as hard as I can so I can give you the money so you can give me these things, since I am not smart or capable enough to do it myself!! AMEN!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
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