300 Days of Death

[RCprince]

Interesting very, done by a Michael Paukner.

[AndyKunz]

That is a great picture of the way the media blows things out of proportion.

It might be more interesting to see the amount of money spent on protection vs. the amount lost by employers. It's been making the rounds here, taking guys down one by one for a week or two. THAT's expensive.

Andy

[Rumdog]

HAHA, O.K. All the schhols in my area are closed and have been for a week because of swine flu. Not media hype!

[Darin Jordan]

Over 63,000 people a year die from influenza every year... Over 36,000 in the US alone, if I read the statistics correctly...

I think the thoughts on "Media Hype" may be related to the fact that the press is not putting the statisics on H1N1 in the context of overall flu statistics.

I think people would be equally as alarmed if the press highlighted the fact that over 174 people A DAY die each year from "regular" influenza....

Based on the number above... 5850 in 300 days is 19.5 people per day... Still alarming, to be sure, but it needs to be put into context...

This H1N1 thing is DEFINITELY an issue... I'm not arguing that... but in the context of the administrations stance on "never letting a good crisis go to waste"... I think it's natural for people to view this with some skepticism...

[Flying Scotsman]

Darin, I could not agree more on your comments. The media are driving this issue into panic mode. To the best of my knowledge this strain of flu has not mutated, which was the fear. The Spanish flu death rate was huge because the doctors administered huge doses of the new wonder drug, asprin.

Douggie