This article comes from WeChat public account: Zhongxin Jingwei (ID: wview) , author: Zhang Shu Nan

While the world is focusing on new coronary pneumonia, the United States is also experiencing a rather severe flu. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released data that at least 19 million people in the United States have been infected with the flu this winter flu season, and the number of deaths related to the flu may reach 10,000, with 68 deaths related to the flu.

Or one of the worst flu seasons in the United States in 10 years

The latest data released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that the 2019-2020 flu season (from September last year to the end of January this year) , 19 million people in the United States were infected with the flu, and at least 10,000 people died, including 68 children. The flu season is expected to last until May, with February being the peak. As of January 25, there were 8,633 reported cases of influenza-related hospitalizations, of which about six became influenza A and nearly four became influenza B.

▲ Image source: website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

CDC claims that on its map of flu activity, dark red in most parts of the United States indicates that the level of “flu-like illness” activity is at its highest level. As the flu season in the United States continues for some time, this number is likely to continue to rise. From a regional perspective, influenza outbreaks have occurred in 48 of the 50 states in the United States. Among them, 32 states have maintained high levels of influenza activity, and densely populated New York, Washington, and California have all been recruited.

CNN reported that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases predicts that the flu season will be one of the worst flu seasons in the United States in 10 years. Since 2010, the number of flu cases in the United States has been between 9 million and 45 million each year, and the number of influenza-related deaths has been between 12,000 and 61,000.

Facing the outbreak of influenza, local schools and medical treatment have also been greatly affected. According to the United States “Washington Post” website reported on February 1, the rapidly spreading influenza virus has closed schools in Knoxville, reduced blood donation levels in Cleveland to dangerous levels, and restricted hospitals in Wilson, North Carolina Number of people.

Mal Gordon, director of the Department of Public Health in Kehoega County, Ohio, said that in Arkansas, 9 school districts were closed, 33 people died, and the number of hospitalizations has increased dramatically in the past two weeks.

Jennifer Dilaha, medical director of immunization and outbreak response at the Arkansas Health Department, said: “We are now hit hard and many communities are affected at the same time.”

Why “see you every year”?

According to the World Health Organization, there are 3 to 5 million cases of severe influenza worldwide each year, and between 290,000 and 650,000 people die of influenza each year.

Even though the flu comes every year, it doesn’t get enough attention from Americans. USA Today commented that Americans do not take flu prevention seriously because it is a cliché and warnings are issued every year.

According to the Washington Post, most Americans don’t care about the flu outbreak every winter, or they take a break, infusion and take painkillers to deal with the virus.

CDC survey shows that during the flu season from 2018 to 2019, only 45.3% of adults and 62.6% of minors in the United States were vaccinated against influenza. The “Washington Post” also mentioned that the relevant US departments have so far received more than 173 million doses of the flu vaccine, far lessNeeded to cover the entire national population.

According to the New York Times, the CDC has found in recent years that the effectiveness of the flu vaccine in the United States is less than 50%, mainly because the flu virus changes every year, and what kind of variation the vaccine must cover must start at the seasonal flu It has been decided before, and the response to the vaccine has been inconsistent in certain populations such as the elderly or infants. These special circumstances have led to the emergence of “vaccine uselessness”, but the medical community has generally called for vaccination.

The CDC states that vaccination against influenza has been the best way to prevent influenza and its serious complications. The World Health Organization also says that getting an annual flu shot is the most effective way to protect yourself from the flu and serious complications.

How will it affect the US economy?

From previous data, the 2009 H1N1 influenza A outbreak was declared by the WHO as a “public health emergency of international concern” (PHEIC) . At that time, Laurie Garrett, a US expert on global health issues, told Reuters that the H1N1 flu epidemic had not yet had a major impact on the US economy.

“Tackling a large flu usually costs a lot of money because it requires the mobilization of various resources and manpower, but in terms of the current H1N1 flu epidemic, the cost of the United States is very small.” Garrett said “From the perspective of the entire market, the US economy has not been significantly affected by this flu epidemic.”

What effect will this flu season have on the US economy? Wan Jing, chief economist of China Gold Group, told the client of Sino-Singapore Jingwei that the amount of information on the impact on the US economy based on known data alone is slightly insufficient. She further explained: “The influenza mortality rate shown in the data includes influenza-related deaths, such as complications, and the flu may not be the main cause of death. Therefore, based on this information alone, it is impossible to judge.”

However, the current data show that the US economy is not volatile. In terms of employment, the number of Americans claiming unemployment benefits for the week ending February 1 was 202,000, the lowest level since the end of November last year.

In the stock market, during the Spring Festival this year, affected by the new crown pneumonia, the peripheral stock market fell sharply, the international financial market fluctuated during the Spring Festival, and risk assets such as stocks fell. From January 24-31, the Dow and S & P 500 index of the US stock market both fell more than 3%.

However, in the next few days, U.S. stocks continued to rise. As of the close of February 7, Eastern time, U.S. stocks continued to rise.On the 4th, the three major stock indexes all set new closing highs. The Dow rose 0.3%, the S & P 500 rose 0.33%, and the Nasdaq rose 0.67%.

Hedging demand has risen. In terms of international gold prices, the most active April gold futures price on the New York Mercantile Exchange gold futures market rose 6 cents from the previous trading day on the 6th to close at 1570 US dollars per ounce, an increase of 0.46% ; Light crude oil futures for March delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 0.39%, while London Brent crude for April delivery fell 0.63%.

This article comes from WeChat public account: Zhongxin Jingwei (ID: wview) , author: Zhang Shu Nan