Sebelius promises swine flu vaccine

WASHINGTON, June 13 (UPI) -- The United States could have a vaccine for swine flu available for distribution by September, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said.

The H1N1 strain appeared for the first time only recently and has already been reported in all 50 states. No vaccine has been developed, but the federal government has allotted $1 billion to developing one, The Washington Times reported Saturday.

"Once we saw how fast this virus was spreading, we activated our pandemic plans and started doing all the things we needed to do to keep the public as safe and secure as possible," Sebelius said. "What this declaration does do is remind the world that flu viruses like H1N1 need to be taken seriously. Although we have not seen large numbers of severe cases in this country so far, things could possibly be very different in the fall."

The World Health Organization declared a global pandemic Thursday. The next day the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported there had been almost 18,000 cases in the country with 45 deaths.

The CDC also tried to reassure the public, saying the declaration of a pandemic is "a reflection of the spread of the virus, not the severity of the illness caused by the virus."