Off to battle! (afp)
President Obama sought to reassure Americans Monday about the government’s response to swine flu. The potential pandemic is getting a lot of attention on cable news, which is covering every possible angle. And just the word “pandemic” — it’s like a combination of “panic” and “epidemic”! In any case, there are a lot of questions about how the government is dealing with the swine flu threat — including whether it will just fizzle out, like Avian flu and SARS.
“We are closely monitoring the emerging cases of swine flu in the United States. And this is obviously a cause for concern and requires a heightened state of alert,” Obama said. “But it’s not a cause for alarm. The Department of Health and Human Services has declared a public health emergency as a precautionary tool to ensure that we have the resources we need at our disposal to respond quickly and effectively.”
The White House denied reports that Obama, in Mexico City last weekend, was escorted by a museum official who died the next day of swine flu. Felipe Solis, curator of the National Anthropology Museum, died a week later from a “pre-existing condition” that was not swine flu, according to a statement from the Mexican embassy distributed by Robert Gibbs.
Remain calm!
