About the pandemic, one thing is certain: cable and local news will play this latest outbreak for every rating point it can muster. So it might be helpful to remember that 36,000 people die every year in the U.S. from flu-related illnesses. And yet:
…we in the medical community still have a hard time convincing people to get their flu shots. If you’re not afraid of influenza, then you shouldn’t be afraid of the swine flu. Even in the event that someone gets infected with swine flu, we have medications with demonstrated effectiveness against the strain that’s currently active.
