US President Barack Obama declares H1N1 outbreak a national emergency

I think this is big and re-emphasizes the seriousness of the situation in America.

The seriousness of the situation has constantly been downplayed by a few but very vocal conspiracy theorists and a lot of misinformation are being spread via the web as well.  Unfortunately, a lot of people (this includes HCWs in the U.S.) falls prey to all these misinformation and conspiracy theories that are being spread.

How will the conspiracy theorists respond to this new development?  More conspiracy theories, of course.  That what happens when watching too much TV and X-Files.

Obama declares swine flu a national emergency

Excerpts:

President Barack Obama declared the swine flu outbreak a national emergency, giving his health chief the power to let hospitals move emergency rooms offsite to speed treatment and protect noninfected patients.

The declaration, signed Friday night and announced Saturday, comes with the disease more prevalent than ever in the country and production delays undercutting the government's initial, optimistic estimates that as many as 120 million doses of the vaccine could be available by mid-October.

"As a nation, we have prepared at all levels of government, and as individuals and communities, taking unprecedented steps to counter the emerging pandemic," Obama wrote in Saturday's declaration.

He said the pandemic keeps evolving, the rates of illness are rising rapidly in many areas and there's a potential "to overburden health care resources."

*Read full article: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=8906684