SWINE FLU HITS NEW YORK KIDS - AT 5:50 P.M. ET:  The swine flu story seems to have receded from the news.  In the TV industry we used to refer to the "disease of the month," because illness was often the subject of TV movies.  Swine flu seemed to be journalism's "disease of the month."  However, in New York the problem is growing, not receding.  From CBS:

The number of New York City schools ordered closed amid rapidly growing fears of swine flu has grown to 16 after the Health Department announced four more schools will shut down and one Manhattan private school said it would be closing its doors as well.

The news comes a day after the city reported its first death due to the H1N1 strain, and just as Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden said he "fully expects" to see even more significant cases in the near future.

COMMENT:  I have no idea why the problem is growing in New York.  There's a lot of travel back and forth between New York and Mexico, but no one is linking that to the outbreaks.  This story is not over.

May 18, 2009