Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Pandemic Flu Plan Predicts 30% of U.S. Could Fall Ill

September 16, 2013

A recently declassified U.S. government plan for how to react in the face of a pandemic flu has some scary, but realistic predictions.

According to a 2009 Department of Defense plan, if a flu pandemic strikes, about 30 percent of the U.S. population could fall ill, with 3 million hospitalizations and 2 million deaths. Basic services, such as medical care or essential supply deliveries, will probably be disrupted.

In the plan, the government also says it assumes that a vaccine against a completely new flu strain wouldn't become available for several months. Even after that, production will ramp up slowly.

Continued:  http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=pandemic-flu-30-percent-sickened

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