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White House Downplays Biden's Swine Flu Statement Against Taking Subway, Planes
April 30, 2009 10:30 a.m. EST
Kris Alingod - AHN Contributor
Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The White House on Thursday sought to downplay statements by Vice President Joe Biden on a morning TV show warning Americans to avoid taking the subway or staying in confined spaces like cars or classrooms.
Biden had said on NBC's Today, "I would tell members of my family -- and I have -- I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places now. It's not that its going to Mexico, if you're in a confined aircraft when one person sneezes, it goes everywhere through the aircraft. That's me."
"I would not be, at this point, if they had another way of transportation, suggesting they ride the subway. From my perspective, what it relates to is mitigation. If you're out in the middle of a field and someone sneezes that's one thing. If you're in a closed aircraft, a closed container, closed car, a closed classroom, it's a different thing," he added.
Later, vice presidential spokesperson Elizabeth Alexander issued a statement clarifying the comments.
"The Vice President was asked what he would tell a family member who was considering air travel to Mexico this week. The advice he is giving family members is the same advice the Administration is giving to all Americans: that they should avoid unnecessary air travel to and from Mexico. If they are sick, they should avoid airplanes and other confined public spaces, such as subways. This is the advice the Vice President has given family members who are traveling by commercial airline this week," she said.
"As the President said just last night, every American should take the same steps you would take to prevent any other flu: keep your hands washed; cover your mouth when you cough; stay home from work if you're sick; and keep your children home from school if they're sick," Alexander added.
Biden, known to be gaffe-prone, had taken the train from his home state to the Capitol and back in his years as Delaware's longest-serving senator.
The World Health Organization on Wednesday raised its alert level for swine flu to phase 5.
The Obama administration has insisted that closing the nation's borders will not help contain the outbreak. The WHO has also repeatedly advised against doing so.
Homeland Security Sec. Janet Napolitano testified before Congress on Wednesday, "Making such a closure right now has not been merited by the facts; would have very, very little marginal benefit in terms of containing the actual outbreak of virus within our own country."
The same day, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there were 91 confirmed domestic cases of the H1N1 virus: 51 people in New York have been infected, 16 in Texas, 15 in California, two each in Kansas, Massachusetts and Michigan, and one each in Arizona, Indiana, Nevada and Ohio.
The first death from the outbreak occurred in Texas, where a two-year-old child died.
According to the WHO, there are 148 confirmed cases of swine flu infection in nine countries. The number includes 26 cases in Mexico, which is believed to be the origin of the virus, 13 in Canada, 5 in the United Kingdom, 4 in Spain, 3 in Germany and 2 in Israel.
Napolitano this week had declared a public health emergency. The declaration allows the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to authorize the use of unapproved or uncleared medical products or unapproved or uncleared uses of approved or cleared medical products, such as Relenza and Tamiflu, following a determination and declaration of emergency.
She also said in her congressional testimony, "Part of the preparation is analyzing what we have with respect to antivirals. The national stockpile has 50 million courses and we are releasing 25 percent of the state portion already."
Swine flu is rare among humans, and there were only 12 cases in the United States since 2005, before the outbreaks this month. Infections are usually among people who work in close proximity to pigs. Its symptoms include fever, coughing and a lack of appetite.
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