EU warns against complacency over swine flu

The European Union warned Monday against complacency over the spread of swine flu and urged people to get vaccinated even though the virus has not hit as hard as first feared.

“Even if the pandemic situation isn’t so dramatic in Europe right now, we have to listen to the experts who say it’s not time to lower our guard,” said Swedish Public Health Minister Maria Larsson, whose country holds the EU presidency.

The A(H1N1) virus “hasn’t hurt us as much as we thought, and I hope that people still want to have a vaccination,” she told reporters, at an extraordinary EU meeting on the disease in Luxembourg.

“It’s the best way to get good protection,” she said.

At least 4,525 people have died from swine flu infections since the A(H1N1) virus was uncovered in April, the World Health Organisation said Friday.

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