Vice President Biden Keeping His Own Family From Flying Commercial, Riding Subway Because of Swine Flu
This morning Vice president Joe Biden told that he has told his own family to avoid confined spaces because of the swine flu. Biden says his family is avoiding subways and commercial air travel, because just one sneeze can infect everyone on the airplane.
Asked by TODAY's Matt Lauer about how he would advise his own family, Biden said, "I would tell members of my family, and I have, I wouldn't go anywhere in confined spaces places now," explaining it was a matter of avoiding confined spaces. He added, "I would not be at this point, if they had another way of transportation, suggesting they ride the subway."
Going beyond official advice from the federal government, Biden said of his family's personal precautions: "That's me."
Asked whether the government should close the border with Mexico to try to slow the spread of the flu, Biden told TODAY that health authorities advise that would be impractical because the swine flu has already spread to the U.S. and several other nations.
Instead, he said people should focus on confined places where the flu could spread quickly, such as airplanes, malls and classrooms.
This is a pretty shocking statement from the Vice President, which goes much further than anything the CDC has been saying.
U.S. State Department: Avoid All Nonessential Travel to Mexico
The U.S. State Department is advising U.S. citizens to avoid all nonessential travel to Mexico because of the outbreak of swine flu.
The Department of State alerts U.S. citizens of the health risks of travel to Mexico at this time due to an outbreak of H1N1 "swine flu." The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued an April 27 notice recommending that American citizens avoid all nonessential travel to Mexico at this time. CDC's notice also suggests precautions that travelers and U.S. citizen residents in Mexico can take to reduce their risk of infection while in Mexico. CDC provides recommendations for those who must travel to an area that has reported cases of swine flu, and recommends measures to take following return from an area that has reported cases of swine flu. The complete CDC notice can be found at the following link: http://www.cdc.gov/travel/. Please check this site frequently for updates. This Travel Alert expires on July 27, 2009.
Over 1,600 people have been infected with swine flu in Mexico and neary 150 have died. The AP says many Americans are still crossing the border into Mexico to buy drugs.
Hillary Clinton Urges Caution For Those Traveling to Mexico
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged caution for those planning to travel to Mexico because of the outbreak of swine flu. 149 people have died from swine flu in Mexico.
Hillary Clinton said, "We have put up on our website information and urging caution with those who are planning to travel. We are taking this very seriously and working also with the World Health Organization and other countries to try to develop a strategy to prevent the spread of this form of swine flu."
The State Department's trave website is travel.state.gov. There is not currently a warning about travel to Mexico because of swine flu. However, there is a travel alert here warning about violence in the country that was posted in February. The State Department has posted a Pandemic Flu Fact Sheet for travelers.
EU Advises Against Non-Essential Travel to US, Mexico
The EU is warning against non-essential travel to the United States. EU Health Commissioner did not mention the U.S. specifically when she said she personally would avoid non-essential travel to areas in the center of the swine flu cluster.
EU Health Commissioner Andorra Vassiliou told reporters that Europeans should delay non-essential travel to the areas hit by swine flu, which include the U.S. and Mexico. She did not specifically mention the United States, but with 20 confirmed cases it is the second hardest hit country.
"Personally, I would try to avoid non-essential travel to the areas which are reported to be in the center of the cluster," she said.
Obviously, any travel advisories that other countries issue advising their residents not to visit the U.S. could hurt the U.S. economy.
CDC acting director Richard Besser disagreed with the EU Health Comissioner's advice. Besser said, "I don't think that's warranted."
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged caution for those planning to travel to Mexico because of the outbreak of swine flu. 149 people have died from swine flu in Mexico.
The EU is 
