IF YOU HAD TO SUM UP the national sentiment towards flu in a single word, you'd be pushed to do better than 'glib'. Flu isn't serious. Not serious-serious. It's in the sweet-spot: serious enough to avoid a dreadful wedding no questions asked; not so serious that you're expected to spend those days bedridden or hospitalised. In 2015, a study by healthcare provider Benenden of 2,500 UK employers and employees found that 'flu' was the third most popular excuse for missing work after vomiting and diarrhoea. That's flu, to us in the UK: food poisoning, but a bit more dignified.
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