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Experts ponder why regular flu season is a no-show
The flu season has gone missing, and experts are trying to figure out what happened.
After spreading swiftly in the summer and fall, swine flu has all but disappeared. And the regular outbreak of influenza that usually hammers hundreds of thousands of people by this time every year has yet to happen. In late February, flu inspired 1.8 percent of all visits to the doctor, according to the latest figures from the CDC. And that's well below the norm.
It's not the result of a major vaccination campaign, says Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. There are multitudes of people in the U.S. who have not been vaccinated or infected. Some of the experts attribute the odd lull to the earlier spike in swine flu cases, noting that influenza typically rolls through a country in waves. Others suspect swine flu spurs a chemical that provides some level of immunity.
Regardless, flu watchers aren't letting down their guard. Influenza experts will stay alert to any new outbreaks, ready to rush vaccine where it may be needed. And, unlike previous years, there's no shortage of shots to report.
- here's the story from the Wall Street Journal
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Comments
I say the feds should claim victory and take credit for stopping it !! Claim that last fall's widespread vaccination effort, even though mired by shortages, was enough to shut it down. Don't be whining about why there is no flu now.
I would say the influenza was over estimated. The campaign to wash your hands and staying at home when your sick as well as the limited inoculations that were available and that the public accepted was also a contributor. Looking at the empirical data there seemed to be more speculation about the demise of the public and the influence of the pharmaceuticals to call for mass vaccination but there was no mass deaths and the majority rejected the vaccines. What’s problem here? The public is seeing the other side of mainstream reality. I pray this is a trend for the future and that the republic will continue to influence their own power and voice. A good example is the new add in the Kentucky Swine Flu campaign to influence inoculations by saying swine flu vaccines were made by space aliens. No one that I know is saying this garbage accept the Kentucky health officials. Continue to wake up America.
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