Flu Report Feb. 12 – What Swine Flu ISN’T Doing

As the CDC’s FluView Web site puts it, “During the week of January 31 – February 6, 2010, most key flu indicators remained about the same as during the previous week.”

Tellingly, Dr. Anne Schuchat, who heads the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in warning against complacency, declared “Individual cases of H1N1 continue to occur.” Hello? At the height of flu season you’re talking about “individual cases” occurring?

Again, the only area of interest is to what extent has swine flu swept aside the vastly more severe seasonal flu. Again, at the height of flu season, CDC labs have only received two flu samples that might not be swine flu.

Also in the news, CNN reports Schuchat “sounded pleased” that a CDC survey estimates 23.4 percent of the population have received the swine flu vaccine, including slightly over a third of children under age 18.

That’s pleasing? Lady, that’s a failure. Part of it is the government’s fault and part is that despite government-fomented hysteria most Americans just aren’t taking this thing too seriously, and rightly so.