Swine Flu Eases Up

In his weekly video address, Obama is pledging that the administration is acting aggressively to combat the spread of the H1N1 virus. But there may already be a glimmer of hope for those who have forgotten to wash their hands: The flu is beginning to look a little less threatening. In New York, where 50 cases have been reported, health officials say the flu has failed to move beyond a few schools. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the outbreak has been only “a relatively minor annoyance.” And in Mexico, where there have been 397 cases and 19 fatalities, officials have announced that the risk of swine flu spreading person to person is relatively low. Instead, the slow response to the disease–people are slow to get to the hospital, health workers were initially unsure of how to respond–may have made the disease seem more virulent than it really is. Said President Obama: "It may turn out that H1N1 runs its course like ordinary flus, in which case we will have prepared and we won't need all these preparations."