By The Numbers

$40 billion
Cost of the common cold on the U.S. Economy

$20 billion
Amount in cold-related work lost each year.

189 Million
Days of school missed per year because of colds

41 Million
Number of antibiotic prescriptions written for cold sufferers per year (despite having no effect on the cold virus)

$1.1 Billion
The cost of useless antibiotic prescriptions per year.

$2.9 Billion
Amount Americans spend per year on over-the-counter drugs.

$400 Million
Amount spent on prescriptions drugs for relief of cold symptoms.

75%
Percentage of people polled who reported having a cold in the past year.

2-3
Number of colds the average respondent reported having in the past year.

10%-20%
Percentage of Americans that come down with the flu each flu season

100,000
Number of people hospitalized each year with the flu

36,000
Number of people who die from the flu and its complications every year.

1918
The year the Spanish flu, the worst flu pandemic in history, killed 20 million people worldwide—500,000 in the U.S. alone.

3
Number of hours the flu virus can linger in the air.