Viewpoint – Managing the Human Toll Caused by Seasonal Influenza: New York State’s Mandate to Vaccinate or Mask

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JAMA   
November 6, 2013, Vol 310, No. 17
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/issue.aspx

Viewpoint | November 6, 2013
Managing the Human Toll Caused by Seasonal Influenza: New York State’s Mandate to Vaccinate or Mask
Arthur Caplan, PhD1; Nirav R. Shah, MD, MPH2
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1746248

Initial Text [per JAMA convention]
New York State and the nation as a whole experienced one of the worst influenza seasons in a decade during the winter of 2012-2013. In the peak week ending January 19, 2013, New York alone reported more than 5000 cases of laboratory-confirmed influenza, more than 1120 hospitalizations as a result of influenza, and 5 flu-related pediatric deaths. By the season’s end, more than 45 000 cases had been confirmed, more than 9500 people had been hospitalized, and 14 children had died.1…