Would Hospitals Under Obamacare Be Able to Handle the Swine Flu Illnesses This Fall

Ask yourself, if Obamacare was in place, how would hospitals cope?

James Taranto had a quick read on the flu and how Mexico had handled the situation.

I don't think Mexico is an ideal example of a country with socialized medicine.

Canada, Puerto Rico with their country's vaccination program and the U.K. would be better examples.

So to the headlines.

Swine Flu Expected to Return With Opening of School

The swine flu will probably return in force earlier than seasonal flu usually begins, federal health officials predicted Friday, saying they expected it to erupt as soon as schools open rather than in October or November.

Swine Flu: Why You Should Still Be Worried

Swine flu is spreading faster than ever — so much so that the World Health Organization has decided to stop tracking cases.

In the U.S., the H1N1 virus has sickened tens of thousands and closed summer camps at a time when there should be little or no flu activity.

Flu puts pregnant women in intensive care

Three pregnant women struck down with swine flu are in Canberra Hospital as the outbreak causes a record spike in demand for services and could lead to longer waits in casualty and for elective surgery.

The three expectant mothers were in the intensive care unit yesterday morning a coincidence that could be unprecedented in Canberra, according to ACT Chief Health Officer Charles Guest.

''What this is showing is pregnancy is a risk factor for moderate and severe [complications for people infected with swine flu],'' Dr Guest said.

Swine flu deaths rise in Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN - The number of reported deaths in Puerto Rico believed to have been caused by swine flu climbed on Thursday from 8 to 19.

Government officials urged residents concerned about the flu to first consult their private doctors to avoid infection and overcrowding in hospitals. Steps were being taken to reduce the risk of infection in all health-care facilities, they said.

"We've noticed that people are crowding emergency rooms and diagnostic facilities, and our message must be clear: call before visiting," said Gov. Luis Fortuño. "With this practice, we reduce the risk of infection in hospitals and medical facilities, while easing the burden on doctors to continue providing essential health services to Puerto Ricans."

U.K. Urges Calm While Planning for 65,000 Flu Deaths

July 17 (Bloomberg) -- Britons were told not to panic over swine flu today after the nation’s most senior doctor said the health service is planning for 65,000 deaths from the disease, which has claimed 29 lives so far in the U.K.

Since the WHO has asked countries to stop counting, Canada is one of the first countries to do so.

In a move that caught many public health experts by surprise, the World Health Organization quietly announced Thursday that it would stop tracking swine flu cases and deaths around the world.

Meanwhile you have loony bloggers posting graphs on how death rates in countries with socialized medicine are lower.



Moreover, the fact that the virus started in Mexico and moved quickly to the United States, leaves more time for the virus to have mutated and affect more people than overseas.

And in Canada, it is not being counted and Canada has had problems with keeping tract of the deaths.

But take note of how many deaths the U.K. is expecting.