dr. frieden, we are time. thank you for being on "newsmakers." >> thank you very much. >> let's start with the swine flu. what did you learn from him compared to what the president's team said about it? >> it's interesting. the cdc in the last couple of days have distanced themselves from some of the press coverage of what came out of the report. the report itself was a fairly balanced report written by scientists who are not normally a ball in medical issues with the exception of one doctor who used to head the nih and was on the panel who wrote the report. people tend to jump on the scary numbers. that 90,000 number became a huge issue in the media. some of us who had been writing about the flu for a long time were surprised at the play that got. dr. frieden reflected that. it's a bit exaggerated. we have known that fluke and cause a huge number of deaths very quickly if it takes off badly. this blue does not look like it's going to do that. the preparation is based on a worst-case scenario. -- this fluke do

dr. thomas frieden. he serves as their director. joining also is maggie and lauren. >> just to follow up on that. would it be a fair assumption to say that over 2 million, 5 million americans already have been infected? >> one of the things that we will do in the fall is to track more closely than we have till date the number of people who have the infection based on telephone surveys. that will help us get a national number. right now we're confident it's more than a million. the fact is that what the number is isn't so essential. what is essential is that we prepare we will prel for having potentially quite a few cases in the winter. >> this is going to be hard to track. can we talk about some of the challenges in tracking it. i understand some of the reports that people who are infected don't have a fever sometimes, that their symptoms are a little bit different. people are asking questions like well, if i think i was infectd this spring, does it mean i don't need the vaccine in the fall? isn't this input a little bit important i

dr. frieden reflected that. that really is a bit exaggerated. we have known that flu can cause a huge number of deaths very quickly if it takes off. this flu doesn't look like it's going to do that so far. and the preparations have been based on a worst scace case squen air yow. and we reflected that opinion. and he showed a balancing act the health officials are facing. you want people to sit up and pay attention, to be concerned, concerned enough that if their child sows symptoms they don't send them to school and go off to work like usually we all do. but they also don't want people too panic. so that's going to be a fine line. >> what about saction sin availability? >> he was not very optimistic that it was going to be much earlier than mid october and that's what a lot of the concern is. kids are already back in school. there are already some schools that are experiencing clusters of illnesses, so the question is how rapidly it will start. usually it doesn't start until late october, early november. >> he also mentioned that $1 billion has

dr. frieden, director of the centers for disease control. and, a look inside the u.s. spital system with dr. garrett. >> on august 20, the only man convicted in the bombing of pan am 103 was convicted in a scottish prison. tonight watched the debate from the scottish parliament following this decision to release him to his home country of libya. >> go inside the supreme court to see the public places and of those really seen spaces. hear directly from the justices as they provide insight about the court and building. the supreme court, home to america's highest court. the first sunday in october, on c-span. >> this coming week, it in prime time, monday with dan balz and haynes johnson on the 2008 election. and, later, joe scarborough interviewed on the future of the conservative movement. but to become a prime time on c- span2. host: the book is called the "republican leader: a political biography of senator mitch mcconnell" and john david dyche is joining us. what did you learn about him in researching this book? guest: he has moved along the india logical spectrum fro

dr. frieden says it looks very much like seasonal flu so far. closely monitoring. we do not know the twists and turns but even though it is a novel stray which is why we have an independent vaccine program big issue will not be immunized without a separate vaccine, it is presenting itself like seasonal fluke. we're watching it very closely we're watching the southern hemisphere which is dealing with their winter season with no vaccines and we will learn a lot from watching australia and chalet and other countries in the southern hemisphere and learning from them and surveillance teams are on the ground but of parents understand not only is the vaccine being prepared the same way that is seasonal flu vaccine is prepared with the same safety protocol but also that is how it is presented typically parents would not keep their children home if some classmates or friend came down with the flu. >> two questions. our schools liable legally for the decisions they make? if someone could go over as we learn more how is the recommendations changing from the end of the last

dr. thomas frieden on "newsmakers" and on on"q. and a. " a look inside the health care system with dr.ohn garrett of the health care center. >> this morning victoria kennedy greeted members of congress at the j.f.k. presidential library in boston. they had gathered for a brief memorial service before the casket was moved from the library to the boston basilica for the funeral mass. we'll watch for a few moments. >> after members of congress gather forward that brief memorial service the casket containing the body of senator kennedy was taken from the j.f.k. library to the boston basilica for the funeral mass. we'll watch for about 10 minutes. ... >> president and mrs. obama were present. these are pictures from inside the boston basilica before the funeral mass began. >> after members were seated inside the church, here's a look as the motorcade and to the sanctuary. [bells ringing] [no audio] >> earlier today, family, friends, and colleagues of the senator edward kennedy gathered for a funeral mass. also, in attendance, former presidents jimmy carter, bill clinton, and george w. bush.

dr. thomas frieden, and on "q & a"," dr. john garret.s month for veterans of post traumatic stress, and if the v.a. could be ordered to speedup the claims and process. in 1959 in the heat of the cold war, soviet premier took a tour, this is recalled. >> "washington journal" continues. host: for the next minutes we want to open the phone lines, for the republicans and democrats, and the number for independents is on your screen. at the top of the hour, conversation with dan balz and haynes johnson, they are co-authors for "battle for america 2008," and to talk w÷ú about the moments that shaped the 2008 campaign. and from "the washington post", a story of expanded sick leave, would cover swine flu caretakers. >> the piece goes on to point out for federal employees they would be eligible to use accrued sick leave if they detect that their presence in the workplace would jeapordize a worker. that's in the washington post, and also is a story that continues to develop with the meeting next month in new york, and top officials are saying no to

dr. thomas frieden, director of the centers for disease control. on "q&a" a look inside the u.s. hospital system with dr. john garrett. the federal communications commission voted unanimously to launch three separate inquiries into the wireless industry. this portion of the hearing examiner's truth in billing rules, which require communications companies to clearly identify and describe charges on consumers' bills. we will hear first from the chairman of the fcc. this is about 20 minutes. >> madame secretary, if you could announce the next item on the agenda please. >> thank you for working on this important notice. but today the consumer and government affairs bureau presents to you a notice of inquiry on consumer information and disclosure in an effort to ensure that american consumers have access to information they need with our communication services. i want to thank step as well as all the bureau's and ochses to have collaborated with us on this item, including the wireline competition bureau, wireless telecommunications bureau, and others. with me are the chief of our polic

dr. thomas frieden the director of the centers for disease control.r, a look at the canadian health-care system with former president of the medical association. >> tomorrow, three doctors from virginia hospital center in arlington, va. tell personal stories about treating patients. you'll hear from dr. stephanie [unintelligible] >> the charges anywhere from 1800-$2,000. it -- a $200-$2,000. it is usually between $650-$750. >> also an internist thompson about patient care. >> patients have an tendency to go to the internet and try to figure out what is wrong with them. without the medical background and grounding experience that we have, they always get it wrong. they usually think they have some horrible disease. if there is the thing that i would say, it is that patients should not be trying to make their diagnoses on the internet. >> join us tomorrow and join all three doctors from virginia hospital center in arlington, va. as they share their personal stories about treating patients and their views on health care legislation. that is at 8:00 p.m.

dr. thomas frieden, director of the centers for disease control. on "q&a" a look inside the u.s. tal system with dr. john garrett of the va hospital center. earlier today, the u.s. small business administration held a discussion on how minority small-business this can take advantage of opportunities available in the economic stimulus package. here to talk about is a special white house adviser responsible for its implementation. this is half an hour. [applause] >> the morning. how was breakfast? very good. we are at day 2. i want to thank you for coming to our 27 annual conference. i hope over the last day that everyone was able to meet somebody new and share business ideas, and hopefully get some good input on how you will grow your business. as i said yesterday, to reach economic parity we need to grow minority businesses larger and faster. to do this, we must think globally. we must develop strategic alliances, and we must think about mergers and acquisitions. today's opening session from the white house to main street will focus on the administration's commitment to ensuring t