Influenza-Associated Deaths Reported Among Children Aged <18 Years — United States, 2003–04 Influenza Season
With all the hype going around I thought I should include this one. 42 reported deaths. 40% had underlying chronic medical conditions and the main cause of death the the flu is a secondary bacterial infection. The media has really made it sound like the planet will be wiped out within 3 months. I’m still waiting for the global devastation predicted from the flesh eating bacteria a decade or so ago. Bottom line–unfortunately, a few die from the flu every year. These numbers can’t even be compared to the numbers who die from only one class of drugs (NSAIDs) in ONE DAY!!! And yet the media is hardly tripping over themselves to report that medication related deaths have been ranked close to the 3rd or 4th leading cause of death in the US. Keep your immune systems healthy and don’t even consider the vaccination. Ironically (and I don’t easily subscribed to conspiracy theories…), the Flumist vaccine majorly flopped this year, selling only a small percentage of what the manufacturer expected. However, with the hype of the flu and the “shortage” of the vaccine I have been hearing commercials for Flumist. This wouldn’t be the first time a pharmaceutical company created a market for itself (aka Celebrex…).
Update: Influenza-Associated Deaths Reported Among Children Aged <18 Years — United States, 2003–04 Influenza Season –