263 Deaths and Over 40,000 Cases of the Swine Flu Now Reported

The Centers for Disease Control has now reported 263 deaths and over 40,000 confirmed cases of the swine flu in the U.S. In some areas, the CDC has indicated that the outbreak has been severe while in other areas the outbreak has been mild. Unlike typical flu outbreaks, the swine flu outbreak in the U.S. has continued into the summer. Meanwhile, in the southern hemisphere where they are just beginning their winter season, the number of swine flu cases has increased. In an interview on the Charlie Rose show, Washington Post writer Bob Woodward (famous for, among other things, his breaking of the Watergate story in the 1970's)when asked what is the biggest current news story that everyone is missing indicated that, while reporting of the swine flu has diminished, the swine flu might eventually become the biggest news story of 2009 if the number of cases and deaths increase in the coming fall and winter.

CDC Now Reports 13,217 Confirmed Cases of Swine Flu and 27 Deaths

Confirmed cases of the swine flu have now been reported in all states and the District of Columbia. In 5 states -- Arizona, Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware - the swine flu has been classified as geographically wide-spread through the entire state. Deaths from the swine flu have now been reported in the following states: 4 in Arizona, 1 in Connecticut, 5 in Illinois, 1 in Michigan, 1 in Missouri, 8 in New York, 3 in Texas, 2 in Utah, 1 in Virginia and 1 in Washington.

CDC Predicts More Hospitalizations and Deaths From Swine Flu

In it's latest update on the swine flu outbreak dated May 15, 2009, the CDC has stated that: "It is uncertain at this time how severe this novel H1N1 outbreak will be in terms of illness and death compared with other influenza viruses. Because this is a new virus, most people will not have immunity to it, and illness maybe more severe and widespread as a result. In addition, currently there is no vaccine to protect against this novel H1N1 virus. CDC anticipates that there will be more cases, more hospitalizations, and more deaths associated with this new virus in the coming days and weeks." The CDC reports that there have now been 4 deaths and 4,714 confirmed cases. The CDC in its latest report has indicated that the virus has become geographically widespread in the following states: Virginia, New Jersey, California, Texas, Georgia, Alabama, and Arizona.

Confirmed Cases of Swine Flu Has Risen to 2,600 in 44 States

Confirmed cases of the swine flu has now been reported by the CDC in all states except for Alaska, Monta, Wyoming and North Dakota. South Dakota has joined the states where confirmed cases of the swine flu have now been reported.

Officials Confirm 3rd U.S. Death From the Swine Flu

The CDC has confirmed that there are now approximately 600 more swine flu cases since yesterday -- for over 2,200 confirmed cases of the swine flu as of the current time. Meanwhile, a third death in the U.S. from the swine flu has been confirmed - i.e. a Seattle, Washington man.

Confirmed Cases of Swine Flu in U.S. Double in One Day -- Demonstrating Its Rapid Spread Through Population

Yesterday, the CDC reported a little over 800 confirmed cases of the swine flu. Today, the CDC reported 1,639 confirmed cases of the swine flu - or a doubling of confirmed cases in one day. This demonstrates how rapidly the swine flu is spreading among the population in the U.S.

Swine Flu Vaccine

The National Institutes of Health has announced that they hope to have a swine flu vaccine developed and available by mid to late fall. This means that the swine flu vaccine will not be available in September when students in the United States first return to school. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has announced that potentially 3 billion people worldwide could come down with the swine flu. In contrast, phamaceutical companies are estimated to only be able to make 400 million swine flu vaccinations over the next six months. This is because of the limited capacity of the pharmaceutical companies and the labor intensive nature of making each individual dose of the vaccine. Each dose has to be incubated on a live chicken egg, and is not as simple as producing some large quantity of some chemical formulation.