The novel influenza virus A, H1N1, emerged in spring, 2009

From “100 years of flu pandemics,” in the Wisconsin State Journal, March 21, 2002

2009: “The novel influenza virus A, H1N1, emerged in spring, 2009, according to the CDC. It was first detected in the United States and then spread worldwide. No young people had immunity to this virus, though nearly one-third of people older than 60 had antibodies against it, likely from exposure to older forms of H1N1, the CDC says. From April 12, 2009 to April,10, 2010, the CDC estimates 60 million cases of this virus emerged, resulting 274,304 hospitalizations and 12,460 deaths in the United States. Worldwide, between 151,700 people and 575,400 people died from the infection the first year, according to the CDC. Eighty percent of those deaths were estimated to have occurred in people younger than 65, a reversal of what is usually seen in seasonal epidemics.”

Remember how panic headlines in the media cause a market crash? Remember how people hoarded toilet paper and hand sanitizer? Remember how the government shut down restaurants, bars, schools, sporting events and festivals? Remember how gatherings of more than ten were banned by the government? Remember how the media castigated Obama over the slow reaction by government?

Me neither.