by KYW's John Ostapkovich
The Philadelphia Health Department is monitoring the international swine flu situation but so far city health officials are not alarmed.
If there's a message in Dr. Caroline Johnson's opening statement to her working group on swine flu control, it's to keep an eye on this fast-changing situation.
INTERACTIVE:
Map of Outbreaks; Safety Tips
Reporters got to sit in on the first five minutes of a meeting during which Johnson (right), director of the Division of Disease Control, set the stage for the private discussions to follow.
Johnson says the federal declaration of a public health emergency is welcome because it allows distribution of resources, including millions of doses of vaccine, before they're needed -- and recognizing that they may not be:
"This is primarily a financial move because this allows the federal agencies to mobilize resources. This is not a message that it's a doomsday event or that this virus is any worse or any less worse than another virus."
For full story go to:
http://www.kyw1060.com/
