Obama: Swine flu may 'run its course'

WASHINGTON - May 1, 2009 - Speaking to reporters after a Cabinet meeting, the president said it is not clear that the flu will be more severe than other flus. But he said the flu is a cause for concern because it is new strain and people have not developed an immunity to it.

Obama said, "I'm optimistic that we're going to be able to manage this effectively."

The president said that government agencies are preparing in case the flu comes back in a more virulent form during seasonal flu season. He described an overarching effort to help the nation's schools and businesses and for the United States to be prepared to deal with requests from other nations.

The flu is now in 19 states, up from 11, according to federal figures. Separately a few states reported slightly higher numbers Friday.

RELATED INFORMATION:

FAQs about swine flu
Additional swine flu resources
Transcript of 6abc.com's swine flu chat with local experts

RELATED LINKS:

CDC Swine Flu site
World Health Organization

RELATED INTERACTIVE:

Swine flu cases around the world

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