the FLU is all across America now (shows CDC US Flu Map).....thanks chimp!

[diamond14]

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/usmap.htm

over 700 Americans DIED from the flu/pneumonia just last week (with 22 cities reporting....the rest have no health department and/or their local hospitals were closed under bush* pogrom)...

thanks to bush* cabal complete incompetence in many areas, included our medical safety...hardly anyone in America got a FLU vaccine this season....many many Americans will DIE because bush* cabal is incompetent in so many areas.....so if you know people dying from the flu this winter, be sure and mention that if they voted for the chimp, this is what they voted for....

[Mojambo]

1. My whole house is infected right now

It's the "Sniffling, Sneezing, Coughing, Aching, Stuffy Head, Fever" Christmas Eve for us...

[diamond14]

2. You are likely NOT on this report...this report only includes those cases

where medical treatment is sought AND somehow, the doctor writes a report for the local health department.....there are a LOT of cases missing on this overview reports....for example, I'm just getting over the flu and I never went to a doctor, but I was VERY SICK for over a month....

I don't know how OUR seniors can survive this major lung flu... it's real real nasty....

[jody]

4. How do you know you have the flu if you never saw a physician? n/t

[xultar]

9. Wouldn't the symptoms tell you, expecially the body aches?

For healthy adults there's almost nothing a doctor can do. IT just needs to be worked out of the system.

[jody]

13. I believe you need a lab test to positively diagnose flu. n/t

[diamond14]

14. bush* to America: Shut up and DIE QUIETLY.....40 million uninsured

Americans are UNLIKELY to spend the money for lab tests, or go to doctors or be hospitalized, and just DIE at home (another bush* failure - the uninsured in America)....plus doctors often can tell that you have the FLU from your symtoms, and do NOT run lab tests, and rarely is the test run to differentiate A(H3N2) from A(H1N1) or whatever...

PLUS...there's not a damn thing that can be done by modern medicine once you catch the FLU....nothing...just try to drink plenty of water (if you don't barf it up) and hope you recover at some point....the OLD and the WEAK and the YOUNG will DIE under this bush* health care pogrom....

----------------------------------

it's taken me a MONTH and I still don't feel recovered, occasionally lapsing back into coughing at night...I have a feeling that this flu season will be particularly nasty....the last time I had the flu was in 1968, and that flu season turned into a PANDEMIC....

[MISSDem]

49. There are all kinds of alternative remedies to treat the flu that

really work, like Alpha CF. Check them out at you local health food store, These homeopathic medicines are fully monitored by the USA Food and Drug Admin. They work and doctors of all stripes recommend them.

[Skittles]

17. it's hard to tell

I either had the flu or the cold from HELL - it lasted ten days and for a couple of them I could barely move my body ached so badly.

[diamond14]

22. FLU is what you had.....here's a little description from the makers

of the Fluzone Vaccine - Aventis Pasteur, those FRENCH PEOPLE (also on the CDC web site)

"The incubation period for influenza is 1 to 4 days with an average of 2 days. Adults typically are infectious from THE DAY BEFORE SYMPTOMS BEGIN through approximately 5 days after illness onset. Children can be infectious for more than 10 days, and young children can shed virus for about 6 days before their illness onset. Severely immunocompromised persons can shed virus for weeks or months.

Uncomplicated influenza illness is characterized by the abrupt onset of constitutional and repiratory signs and symptoms (eg. fever, myalgia, headache, severe malaise, nonproductive cough, sore throat, and rhinitis). Among children, otitis media, nausea and vomiting are also commonly reported with influenza illness."

Influenza illness typically resolves itself after a limited number of days for the majority of persons, although cough and malaise can persist for greater than two weeks. Among certain persons, influenza can exacerbate underlying medical conditions (pulmonary or cardiac disease), lead to secondary bacterial pneumonia or primary influenza viral pneumonia, or occur as part of a co-infection with other viral or bacterial pathogens. Young children with influenza infection can have initial symptoms mimicking bacterial septis with high fevers and twenty percent of children hospitalized with influenza can have febrile seizures. Influenza infection has also been associated with encephalopathy, transverse myelitis, Reye syndrom, myositis, myocarditis, and pericarditis."

[Skittles]

26. yup

that's what I had; oh, it was miserable. I can see why it would be terribly serious to the elderly and the young; in fact, I had such a serious bout many years ago it's what made me get yearly flu shots.

It angered me greatly that I, IN AMERICA, could not get a freaking flu shot this year; it is absolutely CRIMINAL.

[yardwork]

66. I don't know what lab test that would be....

The single time I actually went to the doctor with the flu I was diagnosed in her office when I finished describing my symptoms.

If you have a fever, headache, muscle aches, and a cough, you have the flu. If you have a scratchy throat, runny nose, and no fever you have a cold.

The flu is life-threatening. Colds are usually not.

[frustrated_lefty]

68. Could be wrong, but

I don't think there's any readily accessible Flu test. Tests of that sort typically require an ELISA, but the Flu is difficult in this regard due to its mutation rate. Again, I could be wrong, but suspect a test simply isn't widely avaialable.

[Dem2theMax]

71. When even my hair hurts, I KNOW I have the flu. lol?

And I feel like a semi hit me head on. Oh, and I beg to die. That's when I really know I have the flu. I don't need a doctor to diagnose me when I'm feeling like that.

So far this year, so good. Crossing fingers.

I do have a cure for the aches and pains. Works like a charm. If anyone wants to know, PM me. :)

[American Tragedy]

15. Trust me, you know. It's not hard to tell, especially when it's in season

Weeks of running nose, fever, chills, muscle pain, coughing, sore throat, etc. I knew long before I finally went to the doctor. Sure enough, A/Fujian influenza.

I'm mad as hell that the government and media made such a huge deal about how young and healthy people shouldn't get the vaccine, that it would be selfish or whatever. In my state, there is not only no shortage, but there are now significant surpluses.

[Skittles]

18. that sounds like what I had

I've always gotten a flu shot; not this year and I suffered very badly.

[American Tragedy]

16. Whenever you have a virus, there's little reason to go to a doctor anyway

unless you develop a secondary bacterial infection, which they can actually treat.

[Pithy Cherub]

27. Exactly!

Suffering through right now, which is why I am up. Rest is the most common answer.

[HereSince1628]

43. True, but how would a person know they had a 2' infection unless

they actually went to a clinic?

[Lugnut]

61. Yep

I ended up at the docs with a sinus and ear infection that caused vertigo. Following a ten day course of Levaquin my ear is still blocked and it hurts when I blow my nose. The vertigo has improved but I still get off-balance when I move too quickly. I'm trying to avoid a visit to an ENT. And, no, I couldn't get a flu shot again this year. Last year my doctor ran out because he received half the doses he ordered.

[Aunt Anti-bush]

7. Us, too.

Hope you all will be better soon. I can't wait until we all get better. I can't take any more sickness.

[Mojambo]

10. In a house with a 3 year old...

It's only over until the next time.

We grow more germs here than the CDC.

[Shopaholic]

33. I finally got my shot about two weeks ago--my doctor got a very

limited supply in (like 1/10th of what he'd originally ordered) and since I was a high priority patient (taking an immune-suppressant therapy for my arthritis)--I was lucky enough to get one. My parents both eventually got theirs too. Still there are so many people out there who desperately need a shot.

[NYC]

3. 700 people died last week?

I had no idea. I didn't hear that on the television news. (I must admit, I don't watch much of it.)

I'm at their website (your link) now, but don't see that. I'll keep looking around.

A few days ago, I heard that the flu had struck New York. I see that New York State is red on the CDC map, indicating "widespread flu".

About a week before that, they were saying that there was "excess" flu vaccine available, and that maybe the guidelines should be changed, so the vaccines wouldn't go to waste and be discarded.

For weeks, they kept telling people no, no, no. Strict guidelines for receiving, over 65 yrs. old, etc. Now, I guess they expect people between the age of 50 and 65 to suddenly think they are permitted to get a flu shot. (In past years, the flu shot was recommended for people over age 50.) I suspect there is an entire 15 year age span that will NOT receive the flu shot unless there is a lot of publicity about it. And in New York State, that may be too late, since the flu is already widespread.

Personally, I have not met or heard of anyone with the flu.

[merwin]

6. There's a suprising lot of things that you dont hear on television news :)

n/t

[NYC]

11. I know.

That's why I use Google to find news.

[zann725]

21. Yeah, like the news!

CNN has been too busy covering "The Two Mary's" and "The Real Jesus."

No disrespect for the biblical, but that's kind of "old news"...really old. We need to stay informed, thank you very much.

[diamond14]

8. sidebar link to 'references & resources',,, then the MMWR articles

Page 23 of the first PDF file, the FLU report...shows 713 DEATHS last week from P&I (last column on spreadsheet)

P&I footnote: Pneumonia and Flu



MainStreamMedia does NOT want to report on this, because it's a MASSIVE failure of the bush administration....MASSIVE...and it affects rich/poor/young/old/EVERYONE....the FLU will passed around a LOT in the holiday travels...hold onto your seats....

BTW...you're lucky that you haven't heard from anyone with the flu...my impression here in our Nation's Capital is that nobody wants to talk about....afterall...you throw up and get diaherra, and a cough that shakes up your entire body and won't stop, even when you try to sleep....you can't eat...you can easily drop in death pneumonia, and you feel like you are drowning.....I sat upright on the couch night after night because it was a little easier to breath and occasionally I could take a few gasps of air without coughing....you can also get rapidly dehydrated and go into an electrolytic imbalance...

[NYC]

12. Thanks.

I was still poking around charts and graphs.

I wonder which flu you had? No way of knowing, I guess.

Reporting on this would remind people that there was a shortage of flu vaccine, followed by an abundance of flu vaccine because so few people were permitted to get the vaccine, then no widely publicized announcement that people previously prohibited SHOULD now go get flu vaccines.

To admit that people are dying of flu when flu vaccines were left unused, just highlights the incompetence.

[WillowTree]

23. I'm still confused

I'm obviously suffering some sort of extreme holiday-induced brain damage which is preventing me from finding the PDF file that you're referring to, but unless I'm reading it wrong, this chart



which is a blow-up from this page

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/

shows the per-centage of all deaths due to pneumonia and flu for week 50, 2004 as reported by "vital statistics offices of 122 U.S. cities" to be well below the seasonal baseline and roughly the same as or somewhat less than for the same week over the past few years so I'm not sure that we've seen much of any repercussions of this year's vaccine shortage..........yet. Thank God. Please let it last.

Since they've now adjusted the age parameters downward to allow ages 50 and above to get the vaccine, that should mean that most people in the highest-risk categories can be vaccinated if only the word of that gets out. I'll be going in for mine this week for sure.

But of course, there won't be any vaccine anywhere that will prevent the Avian flu that everyone's so worried about because it started showing up way too late to be included in any vaccine developed for this year. Guess we can only hope that that one's contained.

Scary stuff.

[DemBones DemBones]

25. Don't you see, it's the Beta Test of the Bush** Faith-Based Health Care

Plan -- PRAY you don't get flu and die!

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[diamond14]

28. the graph is VERY deceiving and does not show # DEAD....

follow carefully my directions under post #8, just a bit above your post, and you'll find the PDF file with all the NUMBERS OF DEATHS in 122 cities....

the graph you posted is real typical of the bush* cabal...hide the number of deaths behind a STATISTICAL MANIPULATION that never mentions the NUMBER OF DEATHS, which the CDC has hidden in a very hard to find and confusing PDF file...this is bush* PR at his highest....CDC should post it right on their FRONT FLU PAGE: 713 Americans DIED from the Flu last week (simple, isn't it?....sort of like saying 1324 American Soldiers have DIED in Iraq, but bush* doesn't want YOU to see that number - only THREE more soldiers DIED yesterday, so a similar bush* analysis would show 0.2% DEATHS, low, real low deaths in Iraq)....

the graph you posted is a MOVING AVERAGE...sort of like the stock market moving average...the bush* trick is that CDC plotted the moving average against the % of all deaths .....so this would be similar to plotting the DOW Averages as a % of TOTAL change...without telling anyone that the DOW is now almost 1000 points BELOW when President Clinton left office or even what the actual DOW numbers are NOW...

You may find it useful to notice, however, that the MOVING AVERAGE of DEATHS from Flu are going UP at a very high rate EVERY WEEK, so we can expect MANY MORE DEATHS this week...CDC has very arbitrarily decided, under bush*, that we shouldn't care until EIGHT percent of all DEATHS are from FLU, and then, CDC will call it an EPIDEMIC (which is what bush* should be trying to prevent)....last week, 713 DEATHS was around 7%....but we could have 7,000 DEATHS from Flu, and 100,000 Total Deaths, and it would STILL be 7%......WE WANT REAL NUMBERS...ACTUAL NUMBERS OF DEAD AMERICANS FROM BUSH* CABAL FAITH-BASED HEALTHCARE POGROM.....

GIVES US THE NUMBERS....spare the bush* statistical PR manipulation

right now, it should be HEADLINES on every paper in America that 713 people DIED from the flu LAST WEEK, and that there is NOW un-used flu vaccine, and the everyone should rush to get a flu vaccine
....but bush* needs to protect his 'image', so he'd rather let us die....

perhaps bush* will get the FLU and experience his massive healthcare failures firsthand....perhaps with the twenty gigantic parties that bush* entertained at OUR White House in the last couple weeks (while ignoring Iraq and OUR Soldiers), all his reTHUGlican cabal could be exposed...

[jody]

34. What is the source of your assertion "CDC plotted the moving average"?

The plot looks like % flu deaths by week.

I am also unable to locate the source of your assertion "713 deaths" last week.

I've followed your instructions "sidebar link to 'references & resources',,, then the MMWR articles Page 23 of the first PDF file, the FLU report...shows 713 DEATHS last week from P&I (last column on spreadsheet) P&I footnote: Pneumonia and Flu"

Is your source the MMWR weekly for Dec. 24, 2004?

[diamond14]

35. let CDC and your CONGRESS REP know of your concerns ASAP

it is certainly a valid concern that OUR government under bush* is making it too difficult for you and others to understand or even FIND the number of DEATHS from the FLU....

demand from your CONGRESSIONAL REP that the NUMBERS OF DEATH FROM FLU, EACH DAY all across America, be posted on the front page of CDC's site everyday for the duration of this season's flu...


afterall, WE THE PEOPLE pay for a complete Public Relations and Communications Department at the CDC - millions of our dollars for that....it's a shame that all CDC seems to be doing is massively confusing Americans as much as possible....

I'm sad about your confusion...and that of other Americans...but it's really the fault of the CDC and the bush* cabal....

[jody]

36. Please provide answers to my questions in #34. Thanks n/t

[diamond14]

40. get with CDC, and PLEASE, let us know the results here on DU

we'd all appreciate that.....

better yet, when you get with CDC about your questions, DEMAND that CDC post the answers on the FRONT PAGE of their web site....


your confusions is totally understandable....CDC has made this very complex for most Americans to understand.....it's time CDC simplified the clutter, and told us how many AMERICANS are DEAD FROM THE FLU every day all across America.....

[jody]

45. I'm not confused. Please tell me the source of your assertion

"moving average".

The deaths reported in the CDC weekly report appear to be normal rates. Studies show that flu shots are not perfect because of the incredible number of viral strains. What we have is to be expected and I see no reason to panic. Do you?

[diamond14]

46. if you're not confused, why are you asking ME questions about CDC data?

CDC web site is a mess...you should demand that CDC create a clear communication on their web site, or other means, with their multi-billion dollar budget....so that YOU don't have to ask ME a lot of questions about CDC-generated data.....

and I do see a reason to panic, and to immediately pressure bush* and his minions to take ACTION....but then, I don't buy into the bush* "pray and DIE" flu pogrom....I'm a reality based scientist...not a fundamentalist bushie....


if you don't see any reason to panic, then bush* faith-based healthcare pogrom is working very well for you....have faith, pray, pray and DIE quietly without making a statistical number on CDC's web site (or at least keep your death into the buried PDF files in obscurity on CDC's web site).....

[jody]

47. Because you said the data was a "moving average". The data is

weekly data on the graphs. Moreover, there is no statistical support for your rambling about a flu threat.

Thanks for the humorous diversion you provided.

Goodbye :hi:

[diamond14]

51. CDC should clarify all of that for you....no need to ask ME.....

especially for your level, IMO, the bush* faith-based healthcare pogrom is working....obviously, through your eyes, there's NO FLU
and NO FLU PROBLEM.....


I don't see it that way, but I know that arguing sense with those who BELIEVE in bushie's flu progrom is really just futile...your faith will carry you, so good luck and bye bye now that you are so kindly leaving us....

[MISSDem]

50. They don't under report the # of deaths from the flu; indeed, they

over report them.

[diamond14]

54. it's hard to find the # of FLU DEATHS on CDC web site....and there

is little supporting data...

for example...the color-coded idea is not even clarified....like, what does 'sporadic' FLU mean? or 'regional' FLU mean....

CDC should clarify and POST THE NUMBER OF DEATHS from the FLU right on the front page of their site, every day, throughout the flu season...as others here have asked, substantiating data should be added too.....and then, we don't have to rely on a DU discussion to decide whether the numbers are 'overreported' or 'underreported'....like who DIED and who DIDN'T....


"Rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated".....

[0007]

101. I must be sick with something. I can't understand what the map sez

[newyawker99]

58. Hi WillowTree!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[ailsagirl]

5. Their incompetence is appalling

Unless they did it deliberately-- I get the distinct impression they don't give a damn for any of us "common folk"

I would put nothing, absolutely NOTHING, past that bunch.

[DemBones DemBones]

19. Being in a high risk group, I'm frightened.

I have had a pneumonia shot this year, since it had been five years since my last one, and I was due for another. At least I will probably avoid pneumonia.

Not having been able to get a flu shot this year, though, I didn't dare go to Christmas Eve Midnight Mass and I haven't gone many places at all in recent weeks. When I do go out, I wonder if I should have.

My doctor says most of the cases he has seen were people here visiting relatives at Thanksgiving, and he expected more sick out-of-towners at Christmas. Obviously, they'll pass it on to their relatives while they're here, though, and it'll get circulated in our area. As my mother always said, those damn kids with perfect attendance make everyone else sick by going to school when they're sick. No doubt they grew up to be people who travel when they're sick!

[diamond14]

20. 62 Million people are traveling around America this week...so that should

REALLY spread the FLU around a whole lot....

there are some ideas on the CDC web site for minimizing your risks....and you are exactly right to stay away from shaking hands, hugging people, and dirty doorKnobs over the holidays.....

it's very difficult to stay away from the FLU in big cities, like NYC (red right now) and DC (where I am, rapidly catching up to NYC)...church, trains, busses, work, restaurants, grocery stores, bathrooms, doorknobs...you can hardly get away from it...one person coughs and twenty people are exposed...

you might check around NOW for a flu shot....it takes at least TWO weeks to be effective, but that might help you by the high season in mid-January.....

[DemBones DemBones]

24. We always have those antibacterial handwipes in our

pockets, cars, etc., but it's nerve-wracking when people cough around you.

Monday, I'm checking all around to see if anyone's got flu vaccine again. Last time I checked, no one within 100 miles did.

[AP]

29. CDC says influenza activity is low:

Synopsis:
During week 50 (December 12-18, 2004)*, influenza activity continued to slowly increase, but overall remained low in the United States. Ninety-three (5.5%) specimens tested by U.S. World Health Organization (WHO) and National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System (NREVSS) collaborating laboratories were positive for influenza viruses. The proportion of patient visits to sentinel providers for influenza-like illness (ILI) and the proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza were below national baseline values. New York State and New York City reported widespread influenza activity, 4 states reported regional influenza activity, and 10 states reported local activity. Thirty-four states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico reported sporadic influenza activity.

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/

[diamond14]

30. bush* cabal only ran 1860 samples for flu???? WOW....that's 37 samples

for each STATE.....I live in Virginia...and 37 would not even be ONE Flu sample for each HOSPITAL, hardly covering local clinics, doctors offices, etc.....with more than 7 million people in Virginia, it seems pretty sad to have such little testing...guess it's part of the bush* Faith-based Healthcare Pogrom: "Shut up and DIE"....

713 AMERICANS DIED last week from the flu...how many people had the flu and are hospitalized or sick at home???? just a wild guess, at LEAST 10 times the number of DEATHS: 7130....and bush* funds 1860 Flu tests....how pathetic....

with bush* total failure at the vaccine level, at least, bush* could fund some flu tests, so the medical community could get a grip on what-could-already-be-an-out-of-control-epidemic/pandemic, maybe even including the dreaded but not-funded-for-testing asian bird flu....

[AP]

31. What makes you think that's any different from normal sampling...

procedures?

I'm sure that the Bush cabal would be happier if there WERE an epidemic and if everyone knew about it because that would make people go out and spend money on drug company products.

[diamond14]

32. the lack of flu vaccine is NOT NORMAL...millions are NOT vaccinated

and that is very abnormal.....

there is also ...failure to take appropriate numbers of samples AND failure to take representative samples (like maybe those few samples are only coming from those who have MONEY and HEALTHCARE, and are therefore, not representative)....

at any rate, your argument about NORMAL sampling can NOT be applied to the VERY abnormal situation of having NO FLU VACCINE....


Under President Clinton's Healthy People Initiative, approximately 73 million Americans were included in the target groups for the Flu Vaccine in 2000, and over 60% of those people got the flu vaccine....

bush* cabal didn't even get HALF the vaccine needed AND actually ENCOURAGED people to sacrifice for the benefit of others and NOT GET THE VACCINE....it's bizarre and abnormal and criminal.....and NOW, you have un-used vaccine everywhere and MILLIONS unprotected...and YES, IMO, there needs to be a much bigger budget for flu testing, because that is the TOOL which medical personel use to combat the flu in this extraordinary situation....

[zelda7743]

41. about the vaccine

Just because you get the flu shot doesn't mean that you're not going to die from flu-related illnesses. My guess as a health care worker is that most of the people who are dying are the very infirm/elderly who most likely did get a flu shot. It would be interesting to see what the comorbidity status is on these 700 people. Do they also have COPD which would inhibit their breathing? Do they have cardiomyopathy or CHF which would make it difficult to fight off pneumonia or flu?
No amount of flu shots are going to keep people from dying.

[diamond14]

44. ask CDC all your questions, and let us know here on DU.....

don't guess...CDC has BILLIONS of OUR dollars to answer these questions: WHO is DYING FROM THE FLU????

Ask CDC to post the number of Americans DEAD from the flu every day, all across America, throughout the duration of the flu season...and have them add the other information that you feel is important....how come LOUISIANA didn't even send a report? do you think they have little healthcare funds to do so?


under bush* faith-based healthcare pogrom....likely a LOT of people DEAD from the FLU have NO HEALTHCARE....40 Million Americans have NO HEALTHCARE (a huge bush* failure)...so it's not likely that there's any data or anything on their DEATHS....

Here in the Metro DC Area, TWO Major Hospitals were SHUT down right in front of the bush* cabal...DC General, the BIGGEST hospital in DC and the major source of medical care the the poor....and Columbia Women's Hospital....homeless just die on the streets here in OUR Nation's Capital, right in front of the White House, half the homeless in DC are VETERANS, (18,000 homeless in DC, some probably have the flu)....I don't think bush* sends anyone out to see if they are having specific types of breathing problems....afterall, bush* was busy hosting 20 giganic parties inside OUR White House in the past two weeks, entertaining his reTHUGlican campaign donors while OUR soldiers DIE in Iraq, and the HOMELESS die right outside the White House....tra-lalalalala....ho ho ho....

[Dorian Gray]

80. Come on...

I'm a healthy adult, and I've never been vaccinated in my life. I don't know people who have been, other than relatives who are older or sick. None of my friends have ever had a flu vaccine, and I think that the worry about the flu is overstated for the general healthy population in the USA.

There have even been news reports that there is now a surplus in certain areas for the vaccine, so if you haven't had the flu yet, and you want to get the vaccine, try your doctor again to ask where you can find the vaccine in your area.

The flu sucks for most people, but it's not going to kill you if you are healthy. If you are older or unhealthy, then as soon as the first symptoms hit, go to your doctor. They will help you keep hydrated and give you medicine to bring the fever down.

I don't feel the panic that others seem to feel about the flu, though. I truly am saddened for those who will have a really hard time with it this year, and those are the people I am worried about. Anybody with AIDS and other immune system deficiencies I worry about. Those who are struggling with cancer and other terminal illnesses who might fall victim to the flu, my heart goes out to. Those who are old and infirm. They are the ones we need to focus on, and the doctors need to focus on their needs first.

As for myself, if I get the flu this year (it would be the first time in over 15 years!), I will suffer through it, in pain, like many other people. I am not too worried about it, though. It sucks, but I can handle it without worrying too much about it beforehand.

[AntiCoup2K4]

37. Spending Christmas alone so not to infect family & friends

No danger of me dying from this shit, just being depressed as Hell and feeling like crap.

As much as I'd like to blame the Idiot Son of an Asshole for this, I wouldn't have gotten a vaccine anyway. Hate needles :scared:

[diamond14]

56. you probably got the FLU from the 40 Million people who couldn't get shot

the KEY is to get a LOT of people vaccinated, and then that reduces YOUR chances of getting the flu, even if you didn't get a shot....because the people around you, who got vaccinated, will not be passing the FLU to YOU....


Under President Clinton, flu shots were widely available at every pharmacy, grocery store, places of employment and doctor's office in America, no lines, cheap, often free....without that protection of the people around you, YOU and many others get the FLU and the vulnerable will DIE

bush* failed miserably...there are MILLIONS of Americans who couldn't get a flu shot this year, even though they wanted one....many will DIE...and many others, like YOU, will get the FLU from those who couldn't get the vaccinations and are now passing the FLU around....needless suffering from the bush* cabal....

[uncle ray]

38. your info gives us reason NOT to worry!

because total flu deaths are DOWN despite fewer peope vaccinated. we should be concerned about why more people are dying from OTHER causes.

my reql quick research finds the CDC states 36000 average annual deaths from the flu. divided by 52 weeks, is 692 per week. once you adjust for the season, we're doing pretty damn good. you just fail to mention that many people die from the flu EACH AND EVERY week, vaccine shortage or no.

and how if "only 22 cities are reporting" can there be data on the map for nearly every state?

[diamond14]

42. if you're not worrying, it means that the bush* faith-based health care

pogrom is working real well....


that's exactly what bush* wants.....

don't worry, have faith, pray and DIE QUIETLY, preferable at your home so no numbers are tallied.....which may be easier to do now, with over 40 million Americans UN-INSURED....

[uncle ray]

spreading panic over a flu epidemic that happens every year

really doesn't help much.

look, i know what the flu feels like, and i know theres not much a doctor can do that i don't already know to do myself, so i'm not going to worry about paying my money, that i can't afford, to have a doctor tell me i have the flu so i can be included in the official statistics, the same statistics that you won't believe anyways.

letting the nice nurse poke me with a needle will not make it all okay.

[Dorian Gray]

81. I agree, Uncle Ray

I think the panic about the flu is just going to make problems for others worse.

Sure, there were a lot of problems with Bush's handling of the vaccination shortage, and I don't give him or his admin a pass for that. But, spreading panic is just going to create a hysteria that results in worse damage than the normal yearly flu epidemic.

[MISSDem]

53. Fewer folks got the vaccine; fewer folks dead. Food for thought,

huh?

[SmokingJacket]

39. I had it two weeks ago, and I live right in that red spot.

I actually never had it before, but let me tell you: was NOT a cold.

Feels nice to be part of a trend, for once, instead of always bucking it! ;-)

[MISSDem]

48. The FLU is nothing but mass hysteria. If you do not overdo

the sugar, get enough rest, keep you emotions in balance, eat your veggies, ie, take care of yourself, you will not get a cold or the flu. The flu vaccine is a dangerous thing that you do not want in your body. The hype about 36000 deaths annually from the flu?? Do you know of anyone upon whom an autopsy was performed to see if they died of the flu or is that what they write on the death certificate in December, January and or February? Futhermore, where I live, they have so much flu vaccine left over they can't give it away. The health department says they will probably have to throw it out.

[robbedvoter]

52. Oh, really? I didn't know hysteria to be deadly, but thanks for chiming in

Somehow, New Yorkers seem to be overdoing the sugar. Maybe they did same on 911, non?

[amazona]

55. not surprised to see no report here in Louisiana

The only person I know who is sick is a friend who has a hobby of hypochondria and it's just her allergies, not the flu, knock on wood. We were pretty lightly touched last year, hoping it will be the same this year.

[diamond14]

57. NO REPORT doesn't mean NO FLU...it means that YOUR health

officials didn't file a report....so nobody knows if there is flu or no flu, lots or a little...it's just a total unknown...(have faith, pray...and DIE quietly)...

many states have had major budget cuts in their health departments, to pay for bush* wars....

so, they may not have people and computers to get all the information from hospitals, labs, doctor's offices, etc...and send that to the CDC....

NO FLU ACTIVITY is CODE YELLOW.....NO REPORT is Louisiana, Code White


you'll also find that a only 122 cities are on the 'color coded' flu chart...and if you look in the PDF files, many cites didn't file a report either, so it's really less than 122 cities...

[ArkDem]

59. Another example of what bush has done to America.

[Beausoir]

60. We've had it.

My 5 kids and I have spent the past 2 weeks trying to fend off this bastard. 2 of my kids were tested for the flu using a nasal lavage and they were positive.
I have never been so sick in my life. My kids are just beginning to climb out of it. 7 ear infections in total.

That fucking Bush bastard. I hope he and his entire family get the same flu as we did.
Next year, I'm getting the shot..I don't care what I have to do...my kids and I will not suffer through this again.

[wheresthemind]

62. Guys TAKE THE FLU SERIOUSLY!!!!

Last year it was just about this time that one of my aunts, who was in her 40s, died of pneumonia.

She left behind two kids aged 16 and 14 and a crushed husband. She waited to go to the doctor and then was misdiagnosed with just the normal flu. Within a week of her contracting the pneumonia she was in the hospital battling for life. If they had just caught it earlier she would have been alright.

She was in perfect health... Now it is our first Christmas as a family with out her.

You have no idea how personal it becomes when it happens to you. Don't dismiss the flu, see a doctor, get a vaccination. PLEASE, if not for you then for the people around you!

[Clark2008]

63. They should actually study my anti-bodies

I don't get viral infections - ever.

I have never had the flu. And I've never had the flu vaccine.
I haven't had a cold in seven years (despite my son, who, upon entering school, has a cold nearly two weeks out of four and is always in my face).
I don't get anything that can't be treated with anti-biotics.

I think I have some sort of anti-body that is resistant to viral infections. When my son breast-fed, he never, ever, was sick, either. No ear infections or colds or anything, until MUCH later after he was into sippie cups.

I get a little "down" for a day - slight to hacking cough, mostly eye headaches, and, then, poof... I'm fine.

I should submit blood work, shouldn't I?

[KSAtheist]

64. Elaborate.

Please inform me how you obtained the 700 deaths figure. I want a concrete link; if not, quotable text with a citation would help.

I'd show outrage, but I want proof first.

[diamond14]

65. Link....BTW, Wichita had 2 FLU deaths, and your area had 34 FLU deaths

just in 7 days last week...it's all on the table....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=2865066&mesg_id=2865129&page=


hopefully, you will DEMAND immediate action from the bush* cabal....

IMO, that immediate action would be (but any and all demands on your part are greatly appreciated, and will save lives):

1. immediately fund MAJOR public communication efforts to get the word out: there is now some more flu vaccine available, and people should RUSH to get shots....

2. bush* cabal should provide MAJOR emergency funding for many many MORE FLU TESTS across our nation, so that our medical caregivers will have the tools to save lives....

3. in the upcoming Congressional Session: DEMAND the funding of UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE for all Americans and guaranteed government-sponsored FLU shots every year (which is a major cost savings over hospitalizations and major damage such as FLU-induced brain damage and heart damage, and more...... even if bush* has to reinstate some taxes for his BILLIONAIRE friends....


thanks for your help...

[KSAtheist]

67. No.

I want a link to an EXTERNAL article...not the article I was responding to.

[diamond14]

69. "MMWR" is an external group....they are linked to on the CDC web site

so here's how you get to those 'external' tables generated OUTSIDE CDC....(which is what my post explained earlier to another DU with the same concern....that poster found it, but I'll help you again, because it's xmas time)....

first, go to the MAIN CDC web site

www.cdc.gov

then look along the left sidebar link
and go down until you get to
'references & resources'

touch that link and the "MMWR articles" will be there, along with your explanations about where these data came from....


open up the "MMWR FLU report" to see all the data....go to report PAGE 23 for the table on each city, area, and the totals...which are in the far right hand column called P&I (which means DEATHS from Pneumonia and Influenza, as shown in the footnote for that table).....

here's a direct link to those tables, if you have Adobe Acrobat PDF File working correctly on your computer (not everybody does, so I hope this works for you...happy holidays! thanks for your help...if you save ONE life in your area, that will be well worth your effort to DEMAND action from bush* IMMEDIATEDLY.....we are PRO-life on this board, as opposed to bush*, who has created a FLU crisis of DEATH all over America)....
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/wk/mm5350.pdf

[KSAtheist]

70. This seals the issue for me.

From Aug 10, 2002

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5132md.htm

Total numbers of P & I deaths: 619

From Oct 23, 1999:

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4842md.htm

Total numbers of P & I deaths: 707

Now calm down.

[diamond14]

72. sooooo, by that distorted thinking: if 100,000 Americans are KILLED

in auto accidents every year...then, it's OK with YOU....and we should do NOTHING to prevent such carnage on our highways, except pray....just accept with faith that every year, the same carnage occurs and there is NO NEED to press the use of seatbelts or car seats or improved passenger protection or prevent easily explodable Pinto gas tanks, because Americans love to see those tanks BLOW-UP....
-----------------------------------

The increase in FLU DEATHS from your closest date to today (and you seem to have skipped a LOT of other dates to get back 2 to five years ago....I will assume those 'missing' dates showed even BIGGER increases in bush* FLU deaths, so you deliberately skipped those)...but I'll go with your selected "August 10, 2002 FLU DEATHS"...first, you claimed not to be able to find the data, then I patiently walked you through to get the data, then you fling out numbers that you don't understand....I'll do this ONCE for you, because it's xmas, but that's it, because you need a lot more work and it's more important that YOUR MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR bushite CDC try to work with you in providing you some service....

There is clearly a BIG increase in FLU DEATHS, as you are showing in the 'single week' data that YOU chose......

713 Americans DIED from the flu last week.

do the math: (713 - 619) = 94 MORE FLU DEATHS under the bush* 'missing vaccine' pogrom.....FOR ONE WEEK !!!!...if those DEATHS are OK for you...it's 4888 more DEAD AMERICANS in a year....

94/((713 + 619)/2) = 23.7 % increase in FLU DEATHS

23.7 % INCREASE in DEATHS...which is unacceptable and could have been easily prevented....and we have only been a few weeks since bush* failed to deliver the flu vaccines...soooo...the BIG KILLING is still coming...

-------------------------------------------

you appear to be HARD-CORE believer in the bush* faith-based fundie healthcare pogrom.....obviously, you BELIEVE that the bush* failure to provide FLU vaccines for more than 40 MILLION AMERICANS is OK with you...

so that approach is serving YOU well, and bush* will be very pleased:
keep your faith, pray hard, and die quietly.....

for me, I'm believe in REAL science...so for me, the bush* pogrom is UNACCEPTABLE and CRIMINAL....

[KSAtheist]

73. What the hell are you talking about?

I tried to show you that there was little deviation from the normal P/I* weekly deaths; instead, you start throwing in all sorts of bogus statistics and personal attacks.

Just to throw you a bone, let's look at the numbers from this week last year--where there was no flu vaccine shortage:

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5252md.htm

Total numbers of P/I* deaths: 832

So, using your math, there has been a fifteen-percent decrease in the amount of P/I* deaths since last year.

*Note also that you fail to mention that P/I covers pneumonia as well. Pneumonia is the fourth leading cause of death among the elderly, so it is a stretch to say that 713 people died of the flu last week.

[diamond14]

74. several times you asked for my help, and when I generously provided

you with my assistance...you "throw me a bone" like I'm some kind of dog, rather than a kind and generous human being working hard to help you understand data that you clearly struggle with....


now I know why a book was written called "What's the Matter with Kansas?", which includes your hometown of Wichita....

NO, I DO NOT WANT YOUR BONE....keep it....

and don't ask me for help ever again....

[pnb]

78. You are providing no help at all

The numbers you give have nothing to do at all with the spin you are putting on them. Your conclusions are coming out of thin air.

You yourself have complained about how misleading the numbers are...then you draw concrete conclusions from them. You are making no sense at all.

[Dorian Gray]

82. I agree with pnb...

I don't see why this year's numbers are deserving of the anger and outrage. The numbers have not deviated much for past numbers.

I don't think that this is cause of such hostility.

The real problem is those who are not covered by health insurance. That is an issue to show outrage over.

[diamond14]

83. true...all the numbers are misleading and the CDC should come clean

with the American people about this crisis situation....


I drew a conclusion about ONE week of data, data that was presented to me by a DUer (who mistakenly drew the WRONG conclusion from THAT ONE data set), someone who pleaded with me for help....at the least the person finally found a few data sets, after LOTS of help...so I guess that's moving them forward a little....but my math was CORRECT for that ONE data set, contrary to the confused person...


so if you help someone who is unable to comprehend, should you bash me for it?


obviously, it all reflects that CDC is DELIBERATELY hiding the number of FLU deaths somewhere way in the back of their web site in a PDF files, mixed in with a LOT of other data, in a table series of numbers that is challenging for many Americans to understand, even once they get there.....

IMO, the CDC should put the number of FLU DEATHS for every single day throughout America on the FRONT page of their web site, and ONE BIG "TOTAL FLU DEATHS" in the middle...they get BILLIONS of dollars from us, the taxpayers, and they ought to use their massive communication department to tell the truth to the American people....

bush* CDC could make it all as crystal clear as bush* did for Iraq....repeat again WMD, repeat again WMD, everyone in the bush* cabal repeat again WMD, everytime any bushite opens their mouths WMD....or bush* adminstration also knows how to garble up IMPORTANT INFORMATION in a mindlessly convoluted mess to confuse Americans.
I just don't think bush* minions care at all about this crisis FLU, because of their own incompetence......

just on this thread...all the people DESPERATE to have someone help them understand all this....AND they desperately turn to ME, rather than picking up the phone, or emailing to CDC and their Congressional Reps and DEMANDING that the data be presented in a BOLD and SIMPLE number...as in: How many Americans DIED from the flu today, and what is the TOTAL DEATHS from the flu, added since bush* failed to deliver on the flu vaccine for MILLIONS of vulnerable American Citizens....simplicity....DEMAND IT now....

[pnb]

106. Desperately turn to you???

You can't possibly be fucking serious can you??

[KSAtheist]

93. I never asked for your help in the first place.

All I wanted was a concrete link to your sources. I wanted this because I questioned your conclusions.

So you provide the link, and I find information which invalidates your assertions. I note that you failed to answer my actual post, instead resorting to impugning my intelligence and my home state.

[Dob Bole]

75. hmm....I'm not in the report because I HAVE NO HEALTH INSURANCE

/rant

[RUDUing2]

76. what is even worse and pretty much ignored is that those at the most risk

from the flu are also the most likely to only recieve limitted benefit from the vaccine and so they really need the *herd immunity* to be in effect as well.

The fewer *healthy* people who don't get the shot the greater the risk is to those w/compromised systems.

[diamond14]

84. exactly....without the 'herd immunity' in effect....HUGE numbers of

Americans will DIE from the FLU....

and right now, bush* has brought in more vaccine, and it is all just sitting there unused, because it might 'embarrass the pResident' to make some BIG TV public announcements, so people go get their flu shots NOW.....

bush* spent so much of OUR money TELLING PEOPLE TO SACRIFICE their own lives and DON't get the shot.....bush* even spoke to the American public several times on TV demanding personal sacrifice....

and people followed their leader right off a cliff....now, there is vaccine available, but I see/hear NOTHING from bush* or his minions to get the FLU SHOT NOW.....nothing....silence....DEAD silence....


(nobody seems terribly concerned about what this means in case of a bio-terror attack needed vaccinations....the joke of bush* 'homeland security' faith-based system....pray...that's it...just pray...expect GOD will save you....DIE quietly)...

[toddaa]

77. Flu Shot Hysteria

America has had its flu shot supply cut in half and we are still going to throw away tens of thousands of doses. This is not a Bush problem. As much as I'd love to blame this one on him, this is a failure of the entire health system and it goes far beyond the borders of the US.

The fact is, if Chiron had been able to supply us with another 40 or so million shots, we probably would have thrown them away. A slow start to the flu season without the media hype of last year and demand would have been way down. I don't know what the average vaccination coverage is during a normal year, but its my understanding that we've probably got the same number of people vaccinated this year as last. The only difference is that we are covering people who truly need it this time. In a typical year, its mostly white collar suburbanites with easy access to vaccinations at their place of employment who get the shot for convenience.

In the end, it comes down to supply and demand. It's a fundamental problem with the American health care system and no one, Democrat or Republican, seems to really care about the problem until we get into a crisis situation. When the bird flu pandemic hits, and half a million healthy young adults die off, then maybe we'll get serious about fixing the problem.

[diamond14]

87. disagree. bush* is responsible....the buck stops on bush* desk...

but most of the time, bush* is on vacation when the buck gets onto his desk....


in terms of numbers, under President Clinton's "Healthy People" initative...the 'high risk' categories were greatly expanded to include LOTS more people...in 2000, "high risk" catagories included approximately 73 MILLION Americans.....Clinton's initiative got more than 60% of these high risk people vaccinated, AND made the vaccine available to healthy non-risk people (for the 'herd-immunity' - to keep it from spreading) in most pharmacies, grocery stores, work places...EVERYWHERE and at very low cost.....

So Clinton got about 44 MILLION high-risk Americans vaccinated, and more than 70 MILLION more healthy low-risk people vaccinated (for the 'herd-immunity' to keep it from spreading).....while bush* initially made only 30 MILLION doses of vacccine available, and stupidly begged people to skip the vaccine.....the 'herd-immunity' is a critical component of SAVING LIVES from the flu (so it doesn't spread)...and under bush*, that's totally GONE....

it's NOT a slow start for the flu season, the FLU usually starts being spread around America during the Thanksgiving holidays when lots of people move around and get together in groups....then it spreads MASSIVELY during the xmas season, as right now, when 62 MILLION Americans are traveling and spreading the flu around (unfortunately, few are vaccinated due to bush* incompetence), January/February is usually the PEAK flu season..PEOPLE COULD STILL GO GET THE AVAILABLE VACCINES AND SAVE THEIR OWN LIVES AND THE LIVES OF THEIR FRIENDS AND FAMILY.....and the lack of media hype is part of the protecting bush* image, it's all about letting Americans DIE from the Flu for bush* own polical agenda....it's totally bush* fault that he's not on TV right now, telling people that there is NOW vaccine and go get it....

In 1968, there was a FLU PANDEMIC in America caused by Influenza A(H3N2).....the actual DEATH numbers for that pandemic are hard to come by, because it was so horrifying that health officials try to forget it....but commonly, health officials refer to the EPIDEMICS since 1968....so for 1969 - today....annual flu hospitalizations have ranged from 16,000 to 260,000 per epidemic (average 142,000).....DEATHS have ranged wildly all over the map, depending on different factors, the MOST IMPORTANT being VACCINATIONS...health officials use an "average number" of 36,000 KILLED by FLU each season.....(and those hospitalized are VERY sick near death, and often end up with heart damage, brain damage and more)....

IMO, bush* has put all the pieces in place for another FLU PANDEMIC like 1968, massive KILLING of Americans.....time will tell...the truth will eventually come out as we count the DEAD....it's not good to let bush* bet OUR LIVES on this....we need a REAL PRESIDENT....

[toddaa]

104. Chiron screwed up

The supply system was essentially the same under Clinton. Let's knock off the "buck stops here" nonsense. Chiron screwed up and no president, congress, or media conglomerate could have stopped it. If the full 130 million shots were available without the screw up, half of them would be thrown away by sometime in March. The manufacturing of influenza vaccinations is a slow, expensive, and outdated system. Neither Aventis, Medimune, nor Chiron makes any profit from the stuff and I'm surprised that we still have any of them willing to do it. Throwing away half of your inventory at the end of every flu season isn't going to win any friends at the next stockholders meeting.

Up until 10 years ago, nobody outside of epidemiologists gave a crap about influenza. Vaccine manufactures were probably close to pulling out of the U.S. market altogether. So the CDC started hyping the fact that 36,000 people die from flu related complications every year. Is that serious? Sure, preventable death is always serious. However, compared to heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, it's a drop in the bucket.

Even if a pandemic does develop next year and kills the estimated 50 to 100 million people that some are predicting, it will still pale in comparison to long term issues like poverty, violence, and inadequate nutrition. Neither Bush nor whatever Democratic savior you can think of is going to stop a pandemic. That's just like blaming the president for the tornado that hit your house.

Sorry, but the whole influenza flu hype is largely media induced. Like I said, ten years ago nobody gave a crap. Show a few long lines on the evening news and all of sudden you have a health crisis.

[diamond14]

105. if you're a bushite who doesn't believe in government regulation

of ANYTHING...then the result of such BLIND FAITH is that everybody realizes that nobody is inspecting for quality control/quality assurance and they just operate without QA/QC (which eliminates those costs and guarantees higher profits) until the whole operation collapses in contamination....

President Clinton ran regulatory programs for the benefit of the American People...there was a laboratory that had to make corrections during that time, under regular inspections, the problem was identified and corrected in a timely fashion, so vaccine production could continue safely....

the bush* approach is to NOT REGULATE anything, and let them do what they want...it's really self defeating and costly as you can see with bush* flu vaccine fiasco....had bush* drug regulators (are there any left?) been INSPECTING, the problem would have been identified (maybe last March), and corrected under legal pressure of fines and imprisonment...that's how it use to work under President Clinton....bush* drug buddies now make lots more money without inspections and without correcting their contaminations and poor quality and no QA/QC...and many get KILLED from the poor quality....there's at least 5 major painkillers being pulled because of DEATHS right now under the bush* 'no inspections allowed' cabal.....so it's bad, but bush* says: no inspections at all, never, and if it gets really bad it'll collapse of it's own doing...so that's what we got now...NO FLU VACCINE, no inspections, no regulations....

IMO, the whole FLU vaccine manufacturing program should be funded by OUR taxes under a universal healthcare program...it's an extremely cheap preventative program...a little $10 shot saves major hospitalization costs, lost work time, and possible permanent disablity from brain damage....all very costly alternatives for DOING NOTHING, the bush* approach, which in itself is a choice...

the Feds could select 5 companies to make the vaccine every year, give them the funds to make it plus a reasonable profit (like 15%) and then distribute it to Americans at no or low cost...encourage everyone to get it...think of the savings...the whole program would only cost a fraction of one of bush* weapons on Iraq...the cost of a tank or a missile....each shot with REASONABLE profit would be about $12...

many MILLIONS of Americans have always cared, just because YOU don't give a crap, certainly doesn't mean that EVERYONE is so cruel....200,000 Americans DIE from diabetes every year, and 36,000 people DIE from the flu every year, with many more badly damaged from the flu, and YOU DON"T CARE...to you..it's just a 'drop in the bucket' nothing to even think or care about....that the third posting today for that illogical argument, so it must be coming off rush' blabbering today...

perhaps bush* faith-based health-care pogrom will bring YOU the opportunity to experience the FLU, and close call with DEATH in a very expensive hospital setting that drains all your savings....perhaps you'll be saved (God hears your prayers) with major heart damage and residual effects from the encephalopathy .....God saves you...and then...may God bless you...then you'll still be able to spew your rhetoric, albeight in a much diminished state...God loves you....your ideas about survival of only the fittest, and let those others DIE, are inspirational rush-like and bushite in it's highest form...so what if the most vulnerable among us DIE...if you're not one of the vulnerable, then be PROUD that you have done your duty by passing the FLU death around, that GOD saved you but those other lesser people DIED....it's so bushite...

[shadowknows69]

79. i see my whole homestate of NY is doomed

the only hope I'm grasping to is that my wife and I have never had flu shots. personally I hope our immune systems might be more resistant to it than those whose systems got used to having the shot every year. We don't usually get it and my wife works in public so is exposed to everyone else that has it. Anyone know any comforting science they'd like to shoot my way on this?

[Sgent]

85. GO TO THE DOCTOR IF YOU HAVE FLUE LIKE SYMPTOMS

There are two reasons:

1) Flu can be accurately diagnosed with a throat swap (big q-tip), and a chemical anaylsis performed at the doctor's office. The test costs 15-25 dollars. The viral infection could also be mono.

2) THERE ARE ANTIVIRALS. There are 3-4 different antivirals that will clear up the flu after 1-4 days in most people, vs. 2-3 weeks. For them to be effective, you must SEE THE DOC WITHIN 48 HOURS of the onset of symptoms.

[American Tragedy]

88. Therein lies the problem.

By the time a person finally accepts that they definitely are not suffering from allergies or just a common cold, that window of time has often passed.

[Bridget Burke]

90. Good luck.

Science won't help you here.

[put out]

103. No, no science to offer here.

It seems to be that having repeated vaccinations builds up immunity. A little bit from the previous years hangs out in your system to prevent from infection from prior strains of the virus.

I hope people don't get sick. Influenza can lay a relatively young and healthy person down, debilitated for days and with lingering symptoms for weeks. In agreement with those posting above, whom have suffered through it, it is not a cold.

I caught a B-strain two years ago, not covered by the year's vaccine. I thought I might die. I sometimes wished I would.

My advice: if you can find vaccine, get it. Protect yourself and others around you. The vaccine cannot make you sick, it is made from killed virus.

[diamond14]

96. bush* likely made sure more vaccine went to Wyoming than NYC

afterall, isn't that how bush* distributed the post-911 terrorist protection funds....more went to Wyoming than NYC....

this bush* administration is a three ring circus...and bush* WANTS NYC to just go away...especially after bush* nomination of fellow criminal bernie kerik....bush* thought that would give him CONTROL of NYC....ha...

[seekinguniqueness]

86. I don't know about you

but I never get their vaccination.

Knowing my luck, it would kill me.

[diamond14]

89. everybody dies from something...some die following bush* off a cliff

:nuke:

[shanti]

98. i don't either

and haven't had the flu in years...*knock on wood*

[goforit]

91. Does Bush hate NY or what?

[gypsy11]

92. I had the flu for Christmas

I'm starting to feel better today. I was flat on my ass for 5 days though, totally missed Christmas. :(

[diamond14]

94. Merry X-mas from the BFEE...if we had flu vaccine, like under Clinton,

healthy low-risk people and also high-risk people were ALL protected...from the 'herd immunity' that keeps it from spreading and the massive numbers of people that President Clinton protected under his 'Healthy People' program....Clinton cared, bush* doesn't...bush* doesn't even provide enough vaccine...

under bush*....we're f**ked....BIG TIME....



it took me a MONTH to get over it...like you, I couldn't even get out of bed for a week...couldn't sleep because of the totally overwhelming dry cough, and gasping for air....

this will be very BAD for the vulnerable among us...expect LOTS of DEATHS from the bush* faith-based health-care pogrom....just have faith.,,,, pray...call your priest at the end...but under all circumstances: DIE QUIETLY....

[jeffrey_X]

95. Only sick bodies get sick.

Remove sugar, red meat and dairy from your diet and you won't get the flu.

[Razorback_Democrat]

99. Tell that to the ones who get Avian flu!

from poultry!

I think it's sick to think you shouldn't eat red meat, sugar, or dairy,

[maduroftime]

97. I just don't understand

how the * administration could let this epidemic get out of hand. It is a ticking time-bomb. No vaccine, holiday season travel, massive spread and there you have it a full-blown epidemic!!!!

It is frighteneing what happens when things like this get out of hand.

[Roaming]

100. Actually, those who are at risk from dying from the flu are the

very old, young, or already sick (like with AIDS). Those people already have had their flu shot (or should have, since those people were put at the front of the list). Most likely the people who are dying from it are the high-risk people, who either didn't get a shot, or maybe the shot didn't work (it's not always going to stop you from getting sick), not the general population.

[diamond14]

102. sick? 19 MILLION AMERICANS with diabetes are not sick...but they

are very vulnerable (200,000 people with diabetes DIE every year when flu vaccines are availble, without the flu vaccine, it'll be ghastly tragedy....BTW, diabetes KILLS many more people than AIDS and BREAST cancer combined, so why state: AIDS!!!! ahhhhhh)....

President Clinton vaccinated PREGNANT women, they're not sick, but they are vulnerable....people who work in hospitals and nursing homes were vaccinated under Clinton, they are NOT sick, but they can cause the death of their patients by SPREADING the disease to vulnerable people...

people with asthma, heart disease, high blood pressure are all NOT SICK, and most are functioning OK and living OK...but under bush*..these people will DIE...


bush* did not make enough vaccine available, even for the very highest risk people....and not even for the medical healthcare community....go to an emergency ward for your child's cut finger, and you all come home with the BUSH* GIFT: highly contagious flu from the unvaccinated medical staff....

the 'herd immunity' is extremely important to saving lives....if more 'healthy low-risk people' would get the flu vaccine, they would certainly stop it from spreading and KILLING the most vulnerable people...and that's why I always feel that the 'healthy people', who refuse to get vaccinated, and thereby spread DEATH to the vulnerable, are truly ugly and heinous....