President Declares H1N1 Emergency

Tools

President Declares H1N1 Emergency

Story Created: Oct 26, 2009 at 1:27 PM CST

Story Updated: Oct 26, 2009 at 1:27 PM CST

With swine flu cases on the rise, and a shortage of the vaccine, the President steps in. President obama has declared an H1N1 emergency. Administration officials emphasize this emergency declaration is a "just in case" measure.

A national H1N1 emergency --an ominous-sounding name for what officials insist is a purely pre-emptive move. In the declaration, the President said: "The rates of illness continue to rise rapidly within many communities across the nation, and the potential exists for the pandemic to overburden health care resources in some localities."

The declaration is meant to lift that potential burden. So if hospitals get overwhelmed with H1N1 patients, they'll be able to bypass bureaucratic requirements like making patients sign certain forms. The goal is to allow doctors and nurses in disaster mode to focus on patients, not paperwork.

The declaration comes as millions of Americans in 46 states have come down with H1N1: "Of the pandemic in April or May we've seen more than 1000 deaths and more than 20,000 hospitalizations in this country."

In communities nationwide, including a line that stretched for hours in Michigan: "Two hour wait--for the swine flu shot."

People are already flooding health care facilities, anxious to get their H1N1 vaccines.

"Been trying not to be paranoid about it, but yeah, be aware, be cautious, be safe. And take advantage of any opportunity that we can."

But the government acknowledges that officials have nowhere near the amount of H1N1 vaccine that manufacturers had predicted they'd have. The shortage is being blamed on problems growing the vaccine, but one top official predicts there will eventually be enough to meet demand.

Courtesy of Elaine Quijano with CNN

Add a comment

Name:

Comment: 500 Characters Left

KAUZ News Channel 6 and its affiliated companies are not responsible for the content of comments posted or for anything arising out of use of the above comments or other interaction among the users. We reserve the right to screen, refuse to post, remove or edit user-generated content at any time and for any or no reason in our absolute and sole discretion without prior notice, although we have no duty to do so or to monitor any Public Forum.

More Good Stuff

Weather

Icon
Current Temp : 47.0 °
Mostly Cloudy
More Weather
High: Saturday -64
Low: Tonight - 42
Conditions Today
Mostly cloudy tonight. Increasing sunshine over the weekend.

KAUZ Poll Question

Would you vote for or against a same-sex couple for homecoming court?

  • For
  • Against

AP Video

Stock Quotes
This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.

What's On KAUZ

7.00
ghost whisperer
9.00
numb3rs