It’s my understanding the way the stats are computed were revised.
This is what they are reporting on their website about their estimates:
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/estimates_2009_h1n1.htm
H1N1-related hospitalizations.
•CDC estimates that between about 2,500 and 6,000 2009 H1N1-related deaths occurred between April and October 17, 2009. The mid-level in this range is about 3,900 2009 H1N1-related deaths.
Deaths
Age Mid-Level Range* Estimated Range *
0-17 years...................~540.....................~300 to ~800
18-64 years................. ~2,920 .....................~1,900 to ~4,600
65 years and older.........~440 .....................~300 to ~700
Deaths Total ..................~3,900.....................~2,500 to ~6,100
H1N1 pediatric deaths quadruple in US under new method
Health News
Nov 12, 2009, 18:14 GMT
Washington - Pediatric deaths from swine flu in the US are much more extensive than previously thought after health officials expanded their counting method, the nation’s disease control agency said Thursday.
An estimated 540 children under age 18 have died since the H1N1 flu virus emerged in mid April, more than four times the 129 pediatric deaths reported as of last week by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia.
They were among the 3,900 people believed to have died from swine flu from mid April to October 17, the CDC said.
Dr Anne Schuchat, a top CDC official who has been in charge of H1N1 prevention and control, said that the agency had expanded its count to include children who have died of secondary infections or who did not have laboratory confirmation that they had swine flu.
‘It’s not a switch or a change from how we’ve been counting cases, it just gives us a bigger picture,’ she told reporters. ‘We don’t think things have changed from last week to this week. We believe the 540 number is a better picture of what is out there.’
All told, 22 million people in the US have become ill from the swine flu pandemic, including 98,000 who have been hospitalized and the 3,900 people who have died.