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President Obama: Flu strain requires vigilance and readiness

By By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Story Created: May 2, 2009 at 12:16 PM EDT

Story Updated: Jun 3, 2009 at 11:15 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama says the swine flu strain that's alarming some is so new and poorly understood that it justifies the government's efforts to fight it.

In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama says the human-to-human transmission creates the potential for a pandemic and that's why the U.S. is acting "quickly and aggressively."

The president noted that the strain can be defeated by a course of antiviral treatment that's already on hand.

He's asked Congress for $1.5 billion to buy more medicine and equipment if needed.

Obama said it is not clear why the virus has claimed far more victims in Mexico than elsewhere.

He says he says he hopes all the precautions prove unnecessary but that he'd sooner take action now than "hesitate and face graver consequences later."

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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