“In other words, those weekly numbers in that file are exaggerated estimates”
I don’t agree. The weekly numbers are from two surveys listed above in FluVu. They do include pneumonia deaths, because that’s how any flu kills.
The flu death estimates are listed for each year and you’re right they are always higher because the CDC believes the Excel numbers are low. How they get those numbers is not clear.
If the flu only kills 500 people a year, what’s all the fuss about with free flu vaccines and warnings?
Bottom line is the flu kills. Every year it kills thousands. A new strain kills more because we have no protection. Is this flu more deadly and in need of very special extraordinary government action? I think we have to say yes but it’s like a very risky chemo therapy mucking about with the economy like we are. That could kill our way of life and progress for a long while.
Pneumonia can be caused by bacterial and other infections, too. So, the question is, why not have pneumonia alone in one category? Why combine pneumonia with the flu? See below:
If the flu only kills 500 people a year, what’s all the fuss about with free flu vaccines and warnings?
Many people were skipping the flu shot. The CDC wanted to encourage people to get flu shots, so they started making the number of flu deaths look larger. There's far more to the story, but that's the gist of it.
All this doesn't mean that the economy should be shut down or that a stimulus bill should've been passed. This virus is far more serious than the flu. What should be done about it is a different discussion.