FLU – AT 10:11 A.M. ET:  Far too little attention is being given to the fact that we have a serious flu epidemic, and many of our hospitals are poorly equipped to handle it.  This is a case study in what might happen if we have a national catastrophe.  From Texas Tribune: 

Big-city hospitals in Texas have been overwhelmed this week by an influx of flu patients, and state health officials say influenza activity is widespread across the state.

At Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, waiting rooms turned into exam areas as a medical tent was built in order to deal with the surge of patients. A Houston doctor said local hospital beds were at capacity, telling flu sufferers they might be better off staying at home. Austin's emergency rooms have also seen an influx of flu patients. 

Parkland, of course, is where President Kennedy died.

But high emergency room volumes and filled hospital beds are "not uncommon" for this point during flu season, which runs from October to May, said Lara Anton of the Texas Department of State Health Services.

"We definitely know it's widespread," Anton said this week. "We have been at widespread for the past three weeks." But she added that it's too early in the season to know whether this year's flu impact is extraordinary.

On Monday alone, Parkland's emergency department had seen 930 patients — double what the hospital typically sees for people with flu symptoms by this time of year, Dr. Joseph Chang, associate chief medical officer for Parkland, told CBS11.

Across town on Sunday, Methodist Dallas Medical Center rerouted non-emergency ambulance patients to different area facilities in order to take care of “emergency patients like trauma, stroke, and sexual assault" due to the lack of bed availability from flu patients. The hospital said the move was consistent with state and federal laws, The Dallas Morning News reported. 

The Houston and Austin areas are also seeing high volumes of patients. In Houston, area hospitals have filled up, including Texas Children’s Hospital, where a quarter of patients are being treated for the flu. Austin doctors have reported high volumes of patients in emergency rooms, and “the number of visits at health care systems, physician offices and urgent care centers over the past week has really exploded,” Dr. Ken Mitchell of St. David’s Healthcare told KXAN.

As of Thursday, no Texas hospitals had requested state help to deal with flu activity, Anton said.

COMMENT:  A number of deaths have been reported.  Flu is dangerous.  We have perhaps become too complacent.  The flu shots available may not be all that effective against the current strain of flu, but medical people have told me that having the shot can reduce the severity of flu, once it attacks the body.

And what happens with our hospitals if we're hit by a biological-warfare attack?  I hope that's being studied.

January 13,  2018