Swine flu may have hit Capitol Hill:
Five Senate pages appear to have contracted the dreaded flu virus, which has been linked to more than 300 deaths, and they have been quarantined from their peers and lawmakers, Sergeant at Arms Terrance W. Gainer announced Tuesday night in an internal memo to senators and staff.No doubt, we'll be hearing more about this. But, don't worry. Members of Congress and Capitol Hill staffers have excellent taxpayer-funded health insurance. If any of them get sick, they'll be covered.
Gainer, who oversees the page program, said the teenagers "are exhibiting flu-like symptoms -- slightly elevated temperature, cough, and sore throats -- and the Office of Attending Physician believes that they most likely have influenza, quite possibly the H1N1 virus."
The pages do not have confirmed H1N1 cases, Gainer noted, because doctors have not tested them for the virus. "The test itself is uncomfortable and the results of the test will not alter the treatment plan," he said, noting that most outside doctors are following this course.
But, maybe they should quarantine all of Congress. Then, perhaps they'd actually finish their work on health care reform so the rest of us will be covered.
