CDC Data: H1N1 Caused Far Fewer Deaths and Hospitalizations Than White House Projected

New Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics on the H1N1 flu strain show that fatalities and hospitalizations caused by the disease here in the United States over the past year never came close to the levels that the White House projected last summer could occur in the fall season of 2009 alone.
The CDC reported on Feb. 12 that an estimated 8,330 to 17,160 people have died from the virus in the U.S. since the H1N1 “swine flu” outbreak started in April 2009.  In August, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) published a report estimating that H1N1 could  "cause between 30,000 and 90,000 deaths in the United States" in the fall of 2009.
U.S. estimates for H1N1 fatalities fell significantly below the average number of 36,000 fatalities the government says typically occur each year from seasonal flu.
On Aug. 24, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST)--a panel chaired by White House Science Czar John P. Holdren--released its report assessing H1N1 preparations. This report said:
“While the precise impact of the fall resurgence of 2009-H1N1 influenza is impossible to predict, a plausible scenario is that the epidemic could:
“-- produce infection of 30-50 percent of the U.S. population this fall and winter, with symptoms in approximately 20-40 percent of the population (60-120 million people), more than half of whom would seek medical attention.
“-- lead to as many as 1.8 million U.S. hospital admissions during the epidemic, with up to 300,000 patients requiring care in intensive care units (ICUs). Importantly, these very ill patients could occupy 50-100 percent of all ICU beds in affected regions of the country at the peak of the epidemic and could place enormous stress on ICU units, which normally operate close to capacity.
“-- cause between 30,000 and 90,000 deaths in the United States, concentrated among children and young adults. In contrast, the 30,000-40,000 annual deaths typically associated with seasonal flu in the United States occur mainly among people over 65. As a result, 2009-H1N1 would lead to many more years of life lost.”
In October of 2009, President Obama signed a proclamation declaring H1N1 a “national emergency" as the "rapid increase in illness" continued.  (Which is still in effect, conveniently for President Obama)
As noted, the CDC is now reporting that in the United States between 8,330 to 17,160 people have died from H1N1 since the virus first broke out in April 2009, and that  the mid-level in the range was about 11,690 deaths.