The Chinese epidemic causes panic, and the number of people infected has reached 78,000.

• Flu vaccine in Israel // Photo: David Cohen / Ginny

More than 78,000 people have been infected with the Corona virus and at least 2,361 people have died from the disease, causing great panic worldwide. But what about a much more recognizable disease that is not in the headlines? In the past few months, more than 16,000 people have died from influenza in the United States alone, 280,000 have been admitted to hospitals in the state and 29 million Americans have died. So according to data from the US Department of Health.

By the end of the year, the impact is expected to kill some 600,000 people worldwide. Despite this, the influence provokes much less public panic from the Corona. In the end, apparently, it's all about PR.

In the early winter, the influenza spread in the United States grew following viruses from the Influenza Bee family, which is not high in terms of immunity. More recently, proliferation has changed and more cases of influenza have been identified from A / H1N1 viruses, which have shown better efficacy against them. The first type is more common in children than the second type which is more common in the elderly.

Photo Archive: Moshe Ben Simhon

"The flu season started early this year and became aggressive," the medical director told the National Infectious Diseases Foundation. "It started mainly in the southern states and spread rapidly. So far, there is no sign that annual morbidity is slowing down. "

However, according to new estimates from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, a government agency of the Department of Health, the flu vaccine is dealing well with the different types of flu this year. The 2020-2019 vaccine is effective in 45 percent of cases and 55 percent in influenza cases in children. Last year, for example, the vaccine was effective at 29 percent.