President Trump is criticizing the Obama Administration’s handling of the last major viral pandemic: H1N1, also known as swine flu. He says he’s doing more to address the current Coronavirus outbreak than his predecessor did with H1N1.
The big difference between COVID 19 (the new Coronavirus) and H1N1 is that COVID 19 is not at all a form of the flu. Dr. Jill Weatherhead at Baylor College of Medicine says the two viruses have a different incubation period, for example. She says with COVID 19, symptoms like cough and fatigue will form gradually. Weatherford says another big difference between 2009 and 2020 is the social distancing measures now in place.
“We’re seeing what happens when those measures are not taken play out in other countries,” Weatherford told KTRH. “And that motivates us to be aggressive and to push the word within the public about the importance of social distancing.”
Weatherford says she agrees with the moves by medical officials to help stem the rise of COVID 19.