Wintertime Slowdown

I have been recovering from a upper respiratory illness: bronchitis.  Problematic for a 74 year old man who has had bronchitis three times, and pneumonia twice.  A common cold in the cool winter days was hard on me.  Three weeks of recovering at home.  Two trips to visit doctor.  Getting better as of March 6th.

Not much energy during this period of time.   

Started walking 45 minutes each day on March 9, 2020.

I have had the flu three times (1955, 1975, 2002) in my lifetime.  Scary, painful, weakening. 

My wife and I have gotten a flu shot each year for the past twenty years.



I wish everyone good health and best wishes and luck in avoiding the flu season and the new virus strains like Covid-19.  


Every year, the flu season brings serious illness and death to a staggering number of people.  The evidence is shocking.

"Flu season is hitting its stride right now in the US. So far, the CDC has estimated (based on weekly influenza surveillance data) that at least 12,000 people have died from influenza between Oct. 1, 2019 through Feb. 1, 2020, and the number of deaths may be as high as 30,000. 

The CDC also estimates that up to 31 million Americans have caught the flu this season, with 210,000 to 370,000 flu sufferers hospitalized because of the virus."

So how do these numbers compare to flu deaths in previous years? So far, it looks like the 2019-2020 death toll won’t be as high as it was in the 2017-2018 season, when 61,000 deaths were linked to the virus. However, it could equal or surpass the 2018-2019 season's 34,200 flu-related deaths. 

Overall, the CDC estimates that 12,000 and 61,000 deaths annually since 2010 can be blamed on the flu. Globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the flu kills 290,000 to 650,000 people per year."