Obama labels swine flu 'national emergency'
Barack Obama labels swine flu 'national emergency'
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US President Barack Obama has declared the swine flu epidemic to be a national emergency, the White House has confirmed.
According to the Associated Press news agency, the president signed a proclamation on Friday evening which would allow medical workers to bypass certain federal requirements in the event of the disease spreading.
"The foundation of our national approach to the H1N1 flu has been preparedness at all levels - personal, business, and government - and this proclamation helps that effort by advancing our overall response capability," the White House said in a statement.
More than 1,000 people have died in the US as a result of the epidemic so far - including close to 100 children - and H1N1 swine flu has been detected in 46 states.
Dr Thomas Frieden, chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, confirmed more than 20,000 people have been hospitalised since the influenza pandemic was first confirmed in the US.
"We expect it to occur in waves, but we can't predict when those waves will happen," he told Fox News.
President Obama's announcement comes just days after state officials in New York retracted their policy of mandatory vaccinations to protect public health workers against swine flu.
The policy change was sparked by a vaccine shortage and should call a halt to an impending lawsuit from the Public Employees Federation, the second largest state union in New York, who had sued over the mandatory vaccination policy.