Plus, those figures seem small for overall deaths for the last couple of decades, let alone all time...
It is not for all time it is for the last 300 days. I am just saying that the infection rate is high for such a 'young' virus. The seasonal flu kills 1000's a year, but it crops up so often, and is so widely spread already. This is basically a single point of contact and has spread across the globe and has killed many in less than a year. Flu season has not really gotten underway and the infection rates will likely go up even more.
Yes, so far this is not the killer we have feared (or the media has fear mongered.) But just look at the hit that this can put on the economy where people are down for at least a week at a time, instead of 3 days for normal flu recovery.[/QUOTE]
There no one seasonal flu virus... and with modern transportation most flues
(sp?) probably spread as fast (how long does it take for one to get sick from normal flu once near someone that's infectious?). Plus, some argue that millions more are infected but the symptoms are no worse then a normal cold, so they don't get tested for it.
The fear is that not having effective drugs for it if it mutates to become more deadly we won't be able to do much about it... and that is the most rational reason to get vaccinated.