U.S. Remains Vigilant Against Further H1N1 Outbreaks

July 9, 2009 10:30 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The United States remains vigilant against further outbreaks of the deadly swine flu (H1N1) virus. President Barack Obama, in Italy for a G8 summit, spoke with Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano via telephone to outline Washington's continued response to the global pandemic.

"I think it's clear that although we were fortunate not to see a more serious situation in the spring when we first got news of this outbreak," Obama said on Thursday. "We want to make sure that we are not promoting panic, but we are promoting vigilance and preparation."

"The most important thing for us to do in this process is to make sure that state and local officials prepare now to implement a vaccination program in the fall," Obama added.

On Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta released a nationwide protocol calling for youth vaccinations against the swine flu this fall.

"Evidence to date suggests that population immunity to this virus is low, particularly among the young," the CDC reported. "Widespread susceptibility to this virus among young persons creates the potential for large numbers of cases with more hospitalizations and deaths among younger age groups than would be expected for a typical routine seasonal influenza virus."

"Importantly, severe disease and death caused by novel H1N1 thus far have affected younger adults, children, and pregnant women, in addition to persons of all ages with certain underlying medical conditions more than the elderly. The virus has also caused numerous outbreaks in schools and summer camps," the CDC added.

Obama echoed those concerns in his conference call. He told reporters that the White House is prepared for the the "possibilities that we may need to be dealing with schools that are seeing significant outbreaks of H1N1."