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Swine Flu Death Count Surges
Here's a way to drive demand for swine flu vaccine: The government quadruples the death count.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raised its estimate of Americans who died from swine flu to 4,000 from 1,000. The number includes people who died of complications related to the virus.
These government estimates can be tricky. We knew something was up last month when government researchers suggested their own official estimates for the first wave of swine flu in the spring were a little light.
Meanwhile, vaccine makers are working to get more doses in the hands of U.S. health officials, who badly missed targets for getting the shots distributed. Recent polls show only 5 percent of adults say they've received the vaccine. GlaxoSmithKline Plc this week joined four other drugmakers who are approved to sell vaccine in the U.S.
Walgreen Co. and CVS Caremark Corp. are hoping to get the vaccine into their stores to help show off their clinical services.
And makers of cough and cold medicine, such as Pfizer Inc., are poised to boost sales, a U.K. marketing firm reports.
Brett Chase covers health care for Portfolio.com and writes the blog Heavy Doses.
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