Flu epidemic

Wow. This season's flu epidemic is a brutal one. Many deaths in the USA are being reported. I got my flu shot, but this season's vaccine is generally less effective against the H3N2 virus.

Strangely enough, a flu pandemic occurred in the USA and around the globe 100 years ago. According to Wikipedia about 28% of the population in the USA became infected, and 500,000 to 675,000 died. The upper part of that range is more than the number who died because of the American Civil War. The USA's population was much higher during the flu pandemic -- a lot due to immigration -- than during the American Civil War, so the percent of the population who died from the flu was lower than the percent who died because of the American Civil War.