Success of Big Infectious Disease Reimbursement Policy in China

Nie, Kun-xi; Wang, Chan; Li, Xin-wu

In mid-February 2018, a serious flu was spreading in the United States, and people were reported to die from the flu almost every day. According to experts, this is probably the worst flu in the United States in decades, which is comparable to the 2009 peak of swine flu. According to the statistics of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 4064 people across the country died from flu and pneumonia just in the third week of 2018, which is 10% of the mortality rate in the same period in the United States. And the situation is still deteriorating because the death toll is rising. During the swine flu in 2009 and 2010, a total of 60.8 million Americans were infected, 274 000 were hospitalized, and about 12 500 died. The death toll from the ongoing flu may far exceed this number. In the United States, even if the flu outbreak is not so severe, about 12 000 people are expected to die. If it is severe, the death toll may reach 56 000, of which 80% are elderly. The main reason for the high infection and deaths due to flu in the United States may be attributed to the nonfeasance of government because took no effective measures were taken against the spread of the infectious disease.