Obama Declares a National Emergency for H1N1 Swine Flu

By raising H1N1 swine flu to a national emergency status, the White House indicated that the proclamation "enhances the ability of our nation's medical treatment facilities to handle a surge in H1N1 patients by allowing, as needed, the waiver of certain standard federal requirements on a case-by-case basis." The declaration at the same time as news that seasonal flu vaccinations have reached a high for this time of the year.

Meanwhile, some appear to be desperate for H1N1 vaccinations, as swine flu panic seems to hit, despite initial reports of concerns over possible vaccine side effects. However, reports that swine flu is risky for pregnant women, as well as healthy people dying of H1N1, have lead to online scams that the FDA has warned over.

However, the CDC noted on Friday that flu illnesses, both seasonal and H1N1, are as widespread now as they are at the normal winter peak during normal flu seasons. CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden told reporters Friday. "To be basically in the peak of flu season in October is extremely unusual."

The federal government has backed off initial estimates that as many as 120 million vaccine doses would be available by mid-October, due to swine flu vaccine production delays. The CDC said that as of Wednesday, only 11 million doses had been shipped to health departments, doctor's offices and other providers, and that was already past mid-October.

The White House has ordered H1N1 vaccine from five manufacturers: Sanofi-Aventis SA, CSL Ltd, Novartis AG, GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca's MedImmune, but supplies are still limited. Also on Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) updated its swine flu estimates to more than 414,000 laboratory confirmed cases, with nearly 5,000 deaths.

The U.S. reports "many millions" have been infected, although exact numbers are not known as most are not confirmed as H1N1 with lab testing. However, the are have more than 20,000 hospitalizations, with nearly 100 swine flu deaths in children have been reported, CDC officials also said.