Are U.S. flu death figures more public relations than science?
U.S. data on influenza death may be more PR than science, argues a Harvard University graduate student in a recent British Medical Journal. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) acknowledges a difference between flu death and flu-associated death yet uses the terms interchangeably, writes Peter Doshi. Statistical incompatibilities also exist between official estimates and national vital statistics data. For example, CDC states that the historic 1968-9 “Hong Kong flu” pandemic killed 34,000 Americans. At the same time, CDC claims 36,000 Americans annually die from flu. What is going on, asks Doshi’ The…
