Most Americans are confident the US government can prevent a nationwide swine flu epidemic, a poll said Wednesday, a day after the Obama administration outlined its plans to tackle the scourge.
The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey found that 44 percent of respondents were "somewhat confident" and 15 percent were "very confident" that the federal government could prevent the influenza A(H1N1) from becoming an epidemic in the United States.
President Barack Obama on Tuesday warned he was expecting a second wave of flu infections in the coming weeks, though a vaccine should be available "soon."
"The way it's moving is still somewhat unpredictable," Obama said after meeting top medical, educational and homeland security advisers in the Oval Office.
"But what I'm absolutely confident about is that our team that's assembled here has done an extraordinary job in preparing for whatever may happen."
In a sign of growing concern about the spread of the virus as students returned to class and the ordinary flu season approached, the ratio of people worried they or their relatives could get infected more than doubled to 39 percent, up from 17 percent in mid-May.
And 66 percent of those questioned said they planned to get inoculated once swine flu shots become available, against 32 percent who said they had no such plans.
Between 45 and 52 million doses of the vaccine are expected to be available by mid-October, according to US health officials.
Among the poll's respondents, 50 percent said they expected the government and private industry can produce enough swine flu vaccine to inoculate all Americans who want a shot.
In the US government's worst-case scenario, the A(H1N1) virus, which appears to infect disproportionately large numbers of young, could cause as many as 90,000 deaths in the United States alone.
Since it emerged in Mexico in April, the virus has infected about two million people nationally, seen 7,983 taken to hospital and 522 die -- although many suffered from other health problems.
Conducted on August 28-31, the poll had a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.
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AFP 021136 GMT 09 09
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