Flu 'emergency'

President Barack Obama declared the swine-flu outbreak an emergency Saturday — primarily for strategic reasons.

The designation helps the medical community respond to the disease more efficiently as the number of illnesses increase and needed vaccines are slow in coming.

The declaration permits the administration to alter certain Medicare and Medicaid regulations, as well as privacy rules, to expedite treatment. That could be useful in the weeks ahead should the number of flu cases increase substantially, as is very possible.

In his declaration, Mr. Obama noted that a rapid expansion of the disease could "overburden health care resources" in some places. This is especially true since only 11.3 million doses of the vaccine have been shipped to health providers and clinics as of last week — when 28 million to 30 million were expected by month's end.

That is unfortunate and deserves discussion. Some analysts have said safety concerns slowed the shipment of vaccines. When consumers expressed fear that mercury in some of the vaccines could be harmful, the government requested more single-dose syringes with only trace amounts of mercury.

All this takes time. But it is important to anticipate problems that could slow the shipments. The administration is wise to cut through red tape to speed the process. But we have expected this outbreak for some time; the vaccine should have been ready sooner.