As the death toll from the H1N1 flu virus (aka swine flu) has crossed 1,000 in the United States, President Obama has declared the outbreak a national emergency which, according to CBS 2, "empowered his health secretary to suspend federal requirements and speed treatment for thousands of infected people." Obama signed the declaration late yesterday, saying in a statement, "As a nation, we have prepared at all levels of government, and as individuals and communities, taking unprecedented steps to counter the emerging pandemic." Originally planning to have 120 million doses shipped to health centers around the nation, only 11 million have been shipped; the government hopes to have 50 million shipped by mid-November and 150 million shipped by mid-December. Locally, long lines were forming around at different locations for a limited number of doses, all but ensuring many would be turned away without receiving the vaccination. Several area schools have also been completely shut down by widespread illness amongst students. more ›

The state budget mess has left confusion in many sectors and the latest concern is over a lack of swine flu vaccinations. While the virus faded from headlines here in the states, it's still making the rounds and things are getting worse in England. And with the state budget, well, non-existent, there's concern about local health departments - as well as the state's - being able to properly plan for vaccinations. Cook County Department of Public Health head Stephen Martin told WBEZ, "We as a health department by ourselves cannot do this. Nor do we know the impact on our providers - we don’t know how many people they can bring to the table to help us pull off a major campaign for one of the nation’s biggest metro areas." Martin also expressed concern over cuts to disease control budgets that have been threatened by state lawmakers. [WBEZ] more ›