BREAKING NEWS: THE CDC NOW SAYS THAT 4,000 OR MORE AMERICANS LIKELY HAVE DIED FROM SWINE FLU- ABOUT 4 TIMES THE ESTIMATE THEY'VE BEEN USING.
THE NEW HIGHER FIGURE INCLUDES DEATHS CAUSED BY COMPLICATIONS RELATED TO SWINE FLU, INCLUDING PNEUMONIA & BACTERIAL INFECTIONS.
OFFICIALS SAY THEY'RE WORKING ON AN EVEN MORE ACCURATE CALCULATION.
MANY MILLIONS HAVE CAUGHT THE PANDEMIC FLU VIRUS SINCE IT APPEARED IN APRIL
COMFORTING THEY ARE WORKING ON AN EVEN MORE ACCURATE CALCULATION-- BECAUSE OF LATE, IT'S BEEN EVEN LESS ACCURATE!
When all else fails, manipulate the data.
I have been keeping an eye on the CDC weekly updates for H1N1 flu since the summer.
They have changed the format a few times, from daily & by state reporting, to nationwide, weekly updates of cumulative numbers from August 30th.
It seemed the volume of cases had increased so much, they were posting general numbers, which allowed for them to enter late arriving statistics into the overall numbers.
That being said, one would expect the cumulative number to either stay the same or increase.
After all we are in the peak season, and numbers of cases reported are on the rise.
I found myself sending an e mail inquiry to the CDC to clarify my observation.
I am referring specifically to the Weekly update page
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/updates/us/
The CDC said with revisions, the reported cumulative numbers could go down.
Perhaps that might be true by a slight margin, but the change we saw last week was dramatic .
These are cumulative data numbers from August 30th.
October 30th there were 25,985 Hospitalizations reported.
November 6th, there were 17,838 Hospitalizations reported.
The number from the cumulative data changed by -8147.
Cumulative data should either stay the same or increase. If there were errors, a slight decrease might be reported, but as the death toll increases, it seems very unlikely.
October 30th there were 2916 deaths reported.
November 6th, there were 672 deaths reported.
The number from the cumulative data changed by -2244.
Even if the new format with Pediatric specific death categories is added, 145 total (mortality), reported since APRIL 26th, the numbers do not add up.
My point is the CDC has clearly changed what data it is reporting, and is inconsistent.
Overall numbers since August, Pediatric numbers since April.
From one week to the next, 2244 less deaths in cumulative data???
I am just focusing on the one page of weekly updates & asking for consistency in the reporting.
I don't really know if they had just posted the numbers for 1 week.... and there were 672 Swine flu deaths in the US in one week. Previously, there had been over 500 in a week, so that would be consistent, but the CDC is playing with their reporting formats, and I'm quite certain the death toll has not cumulatively decreased by 2244.
I suspect they are trying to manipulate the data to make it look less alarming.
I just want the facts reported consistently!
Ok, I think the CDC has finally lost it. They just randomly change how they report data, without explanation. I guess they are trying to simplify the data & are publishing things like this: 
READ THE H1N1 NUMBERS ARE UP WAY UP, AND IT'S BAD.
READ THE H1N1 NUMBERS ARE UP WAY UP, AND IT'S BAD. Now they have a separate chart for pediatric statistics. They are slicing & dicing the data in ways that have me confused, I just hope THEY are not as confused as their reporting methods are!
The good news is more people are hospitalized with this flu than dying from it. But it still remains deadly for high risk groups. Children under the age of 4 should be kept isolated as much as possible, to reduce exposure.
Keep checking with your local health department for regular seasonal flu & H1N1 vaccine availability.
