The Philippine Online Chronicles

United States president Barack Obama declared the swine flu outbreak a national emergency and asked citizens to prepare in case of "a rapid increase in illness that may overburden health care resources," Reuters reported.

Obama said in a BBC report, "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."

Earlier estimates from the U.S. Presidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology projected that swine flu could infect half the U.S. population this fall and winter, hospitalizing up to 1.8 million people and causing as many as 90,000 deaths, the Washington Post reported.

A White House statement said the declaration is intended as a pro-active measure as it will “make it easier for U.S. medical facilities to handle a surge in flu patients by allowing the waiver of some requirements of health insurance programs as needed.

The (A)H1N1 virus has spread in 46 of the 50 U.S. states, and caused over a thousand deaths, “a level comparable to the peak of ordinary flu seasons but far earlier and with more waves of infection expected," the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

MSNBC reported that “Health and Human Services now has authority to bypass federal rules when opening alternative care sites, such as offsite hospital centers at schools or community centers if hospitals seek permission.”

The outbreak affected an estimate of 20,000 people across U.S. and health officials previously said that as many as 120 million doses of the (A)H1N1 vaccine could be available by mid-October, but only 13 million doses were delivered by drug companies.

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites