What editorial writers are saying about swine flu

Some claim that the government and media outlets overreacted to what is being called swine flu, but others say the outbreak allowed the nation -- and the world -- to prepare for the next flu strain. A sampling of newspapers across the country shows a variety of conclusions.

Swine flu vaccine: $1 billion U.S. investment in research was a bargain

The nation's new flu surveillance system works -- even if Americans are still learning what to do with the volume of information it provides. And the government's $1 billion investment in 2005 to help develop a profitable flu vaccine industry was money very well spent, even if the techniques to lift vaccine technology out of the 1950s are still a year or two away. San Jose Mercury News, May 2

Swine flu hysteria

The public constantly is assaulted by exaggerated pandemic predictions. Just a few years ago, Congress debated whether 2.5% of the federal budget should be spent to protect us from bird flu. We were told that Ebola and AIDS both threatened the human race. Governments -- both foreign and domestic -- take advantage of hysteria to push policies and programs they favor anyway. The Washington Times, April 29

The challenge from swine flu

Earlier this year, Republicans, led by Senator Susan Collins of Maine, managed to strip money for pandemic preparedness out of the federal stimulus bill on the grounds that it was pork. This bad decision illustrates the consequences of another infectious disease: irrational partisanship. At this point, it is more prevalent than swine flu and more dangerous to the nation's health. The Boston Globe, April 28

The swine flu battle

We wouldn't go as far as to applaud the overreaction among European health authorities, who asked people to avoid unnecessary travel to the United States, or Russia's ban on U.S. and Mexican pork imports. The flu can't be caught by eating pork, and several dozen U.S. flu cases -- apparently much milder than the cases in Mexico -- in a nation of 300 million people is a weak reason for bringing global travel and commerce to a panic-induced halt. Los Angeles Times, April 29

The cost of staying home sick

If President Obama is serious about responsible action to control infectious disease threats, he should back legislation to grant Americans at least seven paid sick days a year -- long enough to stay home until an influenza infection subsides. Then virtually all Americans could heed his advice, and we would all be safer. The New York Times, May 4