•Swine Flu May Infect Half of Population in U.S., Kill 90,000, Study Says

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ByLoSellHi

Mods, this will have economic ramifications (on a major scale, IMO) if it comes to fruition, but move to P&R or Chit Chat if you genuinely disagree.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=abCN9aBVJIkg

•Swine Flu May Infect Half of Population in U.S., Kill 90,000, Study Says

Swine Flu May Infect Half of U.S., Kill 90,000, Report Says
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By Tom Randall

Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Swine flu may infect half the U.S. population this year, hospitalize 1.8 million patients, and lead to 90,000 deaths, according to a report by White House advisers.

Thirty percent to 50 percent of the country’s population will be infected in the fall and winter, according to the “plausible scenario” outlined in today’s report by the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology. As many as 300,000 patients may require treatment in hospital intensive care units, filling 50 percent to 100 percent of all beds available to those facilities, the study said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Tom Randall in New York at trandall6@bloomberg.net;

Last Updated: August 24, 2009 13:58 EDT
 
At that infection rate, what is going to happen to the rest of the world, and in many countries where the medical system is too ill-equipped to handle the size of the outbreak?

Or will it just be a US problem?
 
It's the White House fear factor trying to get health care public participation over the hump. Same scare tactics Bush used applied to a different point.
 
Quote from Banjo:

It's the White House fear factor trying to get health care public participation over the hump. Same scare tactics Bush used applied to a different point.
More...

I thought about this, too, and considered it.

It may be possible, but no one has any way to know, and I'm not sure it really helps them in any specific way legislatively or even popularly, IMO.

Two things I will just add:

1) IF the projections pan out, or the result is worse, I do believe this will exceed the impact of SARS in Asia, even with a lower mortality rate as a % of infected patients, because so many more people will become infected.

This will cause some form of hysteria and have devastating effects on the economy, IMO. Mass transit? Will it be void of passengers?

2) The vaccination has been shown to cause some problems so far, and no one knows if it will even be effective if the H1N1 strain mutates between now and the November-December period.
 
so 150 million americans get it and 90 thousand die, that's 0.0006% mortality rate, I believe that is no different than seasonal flu. Seasonal flu kills 36 thou on less infections.

Now if this shit mutates with h5n1, then I would be worried.
 
Leave out the mortality rates, and just look at the projected #'s.
If 30% of the USA gets sick cuz of a "new flu", and stays home, or can't work, that's a LOT of everyday working folk not doing what we need done on a daily basis.
Truck drivers, cops, EMT's, Dr.'s, Wal Mart checkers, etc.
 
Quote from IanMacQuaide:

Leave out the mortality rates, and just look at the projected #'s.
If 30% of the USA gets sick cuz of a "new flu", and stays home, or can't work, that's a LOT of everyday working folk not doing what we need done on a daily basis.
Truck drivers, cops, EMT's, Dr.'s, Wal Mart checkers, etc.
More...

Most people will work through it. Times are tough.
 
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