The Pahrump Valley Times participated in Sen. Harry Reid's hour-long conference call with federal health officials. Dr. Jon Krohmer of health affairs at the Department of Homeland Security answered questions as did Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Other participants included health representatives throughout Nevada from hospitals and health centers, UNLV, Washoe County District Board of Health, the Nevada State Health Division and others.

Earlier that day, President Obama asked Congress for $1.5 billion to augment the ongoing preparedness program for swine flu. The money would be used to monitor and track the virus and to build and distribute a supply of antiviral drugs.

Reid, D-Nev., said Obama's earlier declaration of a public health emergency also leads to more accessibility to federal funds.

Besser started the briefing by saying, "The swine flu situation is rapidly evolving and the CDC is working with all agencies to respond aggressively. With a new infectious disease, there is more that we do not know than we do know. The spectrum of disease is different in the U.S. than in Mexico. I don't find this reassuring. I expect this will change."

"We are working aggressively to try and understand why we are seeing more severe cases in Mexico because what we learn in Mexico will help here. We are working side by side with state and local responders. The investments we have made over the last years helped in the early detection of this outbreak," said Besser.

"I know people are concerned and we are hoping that concern leads to planning. If you are sick, if you have a fever, do not go out in the community. Keep your kids home from school if they are sick.

"We are in a pre-pandemic phase. We are taking prudent actions that vary in different locations to reduce the impact on our communities and to make sure we are doing everything we can to reduce the impact on our health."

Besser said the strain of influenza has been identified and "we are growing it up." He said the new vaccine would be ready in the fall, when flu season actually begins.

"It's a question of time to get it done for next season. We are also currently addressing drug manufacturing capacities."

Besser said the government is in the process of distributing the national stockpile of drugs.

When asked about concerns over past vaccines that did more harm than good, Besser said today's vaccines use vastly superior methods of manufacturing. "It's very important that while we move forward aggressively, we also move forward with the utmost caution," he said.

"We have thousands of doses of medicine in Nevada strategically placed in case an outbreak should occur," Gov. Jim Gibbons said Monday in a news conference with state health officials.