I wasn't sure if I should even write about this since it currently appears to be reaching a state of panic. However, overreacting in the opposite direction is no better.
My first thought is how many people die from the common seasonal influenza virus. "Between 1990 and 1999, the average annual number of deaths from any cause that were attributable to influenza was 51,000, and the number of hospitalizations for respiratory and circulatory diagnoses attributable to influenza was 365,000."
New England Journal of Medicine. That appears to be in the U.S. alone, although I am not positive. 51,000 and no news coverage. How about deaths from Heart Disease or Car Accidents?
I then wanted to learn more from those who have planned for a pandemic for years. First I read
WHO Pandemic Alert. Then I found
U.S. Health and Human Services.