Out of the darkness?

It seems the big bad flu is headed away, as it should given the season.

But, look at the second graph. The death rate keeps climbing.

But not here in W North Carolina, that I can tell. We are still busy taking x-rays of sick people, but not insane like it was a month ago.

I suppose sometimes we are ahead of the average, and sometimes we are behind it.

Both graphics, are, of course, from the CDC, here.

The Flu on Monday

Well, of the 14 patients I took chest xrays on last Friday, 4 died over the weekend.
That is, let's see... 28% or so.
I did not check the charts to see who was positive for flu, all of them did have pneumonia though, or radiographic signs of pneumonia anyway.
That is pretty grim news.

The good news? Again, it is February, not December. These things pass with the season, most of the time.

More good news?

It seems the alchemists who predict what type of flu will come 2 years out were right, in spite of what you may have seen on TV. 91% of the observed H1N1 virus has been of the type contained in the vaccine.

I think that is pretty good.