Sick of the Cold Week 7

OK there is sick as in ill with a cold or flu and then there is fed up as in "sick and tired" of something that you've had too much of and that's where we are. That also appears to be where many others are as well. In the District of Columbia there is a church sign posted saying: "To those of you praying for snow. Please stop." We have to agree. Make it stop and we don't just mean the white stuff. It's cold enough for us with the wind and without. This feels like it's enough to make us sick.

2010 FLU DEATHS by Jurisdiction THIS Week LAST Week YTD 2010 YTD 2009 YTD 2008 YTD 2007 District of Columbia Baltimore, MD Charlotte, NC Richmond / Norfolk, VA 3 11 12 4 1 16 12 5 11 113 85 41 12 125 56 53 11 117 87 46 9 116 87 48 TOTALS (Week 7) 30 34 250 253 261 260

On the good side we're not giving each other as much flu and pneumonia as well normally do. People are still being victimized by the flu though not as often. Cold good for us. Tarzan glad. One of the benefits of cold weather is the ability to keep us from infecting each other with our little viral "nasties." Our concern with the District of Columbia was the third (3) highest cause of death is accidents. When the mayor of Washington DC refused to close the local government when the roads were too icy to drive we thought the matter reckless and irresponsible. We aren't the ones responsible for the shrinking budget of a major metropolitan area so the decision isn't ours and its easy for us to second guess the mayoral decision. That's why we think emergency plans are so important. That this winter storm which exceeded all other prior storms yet didn't rank as an emergency we just couldn't fathom it.

On February 24, 2010 vaccine experts voted that everyone 6 months and older should get a flu vaccine next season. CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted for "universal" flu vaccination in the U.S. to expand protection against the flu to more people. Next season's vaccine will protect against the 2009 H1N1 pandemic virus and 2 other flu viruses. - Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Just as the snow stops for some jurisdictions the deaths begins but the pattern is a little strange both north and south. In the District of Columbia the overall number of deaths are the years second highest (105) and they are in Richmond Virginia with their year to date highest amount of all deaths (81) while neighboring Baltimore (with 101) and Norfolk (with 52) is a decline in overall death rates. In Charlotte all the total number of deaths are down (with 105).

"The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) was below the epidemic threshold... No states reported widespread influenza activity, three states reported regional influenza activity, Puerto Rico and eight states reported local influenza activity, the District of Columbia..." - Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

That so many Washingtonians died as compared to much larger by land mass and population statistics should be a cause for alarm for the area yet its not even worthy of mention in area media  Though not a state the District of Columbia is the fiftieth (50) largest state in the union only Wyoming is smaller according to 2008 census stats. No state has as density a population as the Washington DC. North Carolina is tenth (10) largest state in the union, Virginia is twelfth (12) and Maryland nineteenth (19). Aren't you glad that we're here to tell you what's what? Thankfully the federal government is addressing the national threat and planning to incorporate the solution into the future to prevent the possibility of future death to flu or pneumonia.