Swine flu: Border closings won't work

by Mark Silva and updated

With the confirmed cases of swine flu in the United States growing and spreading to more states, the White House continues to face questions about closing the border with Mexico, where the flu has been blamed for the deaths of more than 150 people.

The White House insists that border-closings won't help - that's based on the best advice from the World Health Organization and others in the field.

But Vice President Joe Biden has some other personal advice for those worried about the flu today: Stay off of airplanes, and stay out of subways.

"I would tell members of my family, and I have,'I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places now,''' Biden said this morning. "It's not that it's going to Mexico...

"It's that you're in a confined aircraft, where one person sneezes, it goes all the way through the aircraft,'' Biden said. "I would not be at this point, if they had another way of transportation, suggesting they ride the subway.... If you're out in the middle of a field and someone sneezes, that's one thing. If you're in a closed aircraft, or closed container or closed car or closed container, it's another thing.''

This, from the longtime senator from Delaware who commuted to Washington every day on Amtrak. In an appearance on NBC News' Today show this morning, Biden made it clear that he is a lot more concern about being in confined places such as aircraft than he is about the nation's open borders. On CBS News' Early Show, Biden also dismissed the idea as "a monumental undertaking" (see that interview below.)

The White House was quick with an explanation this morning, Biden spokeswoman Elizabeth Alexander issuing this statement: "The vice president was asked what he would tell a family member who was considering air travel to Mexico this week. The advice he is giving family members is the same advice the administration is giving to all Americans: that they should avoid unnecessary air travel to and from Mexico.''

"If they are sick, they should avoid airplanes and other confined public spaces, such as subways,'' she said. "This is the advice the vice president has given family members who are traveling by commercial airline this week.''

"We have contacted and been in contact with the leading health experts in the world,'' Biden said to a question of closing the Mexican border, "and they have suggested that is not the way we should move... What they have suggested is that we should deal with mitigation... Closing a classroom and closing a border are two fundamentally different things.''

President Barack Obama, asked about this at his press conference last night, said: "At this point they have not recommended a border closing. From their perspective, it would be akin to closing the barn door after the horses are out, because we already have cases here in the United States.

"We have ramped up screening efforts, as well as made sure that additional supplies are there on the border,'' he said, "so that we can prepare in the eventuality that we have to do more than we're doing currently.''

So, say the basement is flooded, NBC's Matt Lauer asked Biden - one shuts off the faucets in the house, but doesn't one shut off the main, too?

"If the analogy were appropriate, yes, but I don't think the analogy is appropriate,'' Biden said. "The point being made by the World Health Organization is that this is in other countries, too... which borders do we close? Do we close the Canadian border?... This is not an efficacious use of our efforts.''

Here, courtesy of CBS News, is the Early Show interview of Biden by Maggie Rodriguez:

RODRIGUEZ: Joining us now is Vice President Joe Biden. Good morning, Mr. Vice President.

BIDEN: Good morning, Maggie. How are you?

RODRIGUEZ: Fine, thank you.

It looks this morning as though Chrysler will be filing for bankruptcy because talks broke down last night. We heard the president say that if this happened it would likely be a quick court process and Chrysler would be fine on the other end.

But given the fact that liquidation, selling off this company in pieces, will likely be more profitable for the people who are holding things up, isn't that a more likely scenario?

BIDEN: Well, I hope not. An awful lot of the stakeholders had agreed to settlements. There were a group, a minority group, that would not do that. Our hope and expectation is, as the president has said, the bankruptcy would be quick, not result in liquidation, and Chrysler would come out the other end a company ready, leaner, and able to compete.

That's the hope.

RODRIGUEZ: Regardless of what happens, is Chrysler not getting any more government money after this, no matter what?

BIDEN: Well, the deal was that Chrysler would have to make the changes that it attempted to negotiate -- was unable to do it -- so the choice left is what you're hearing, that they're moving into bankruptcy.

After that, and Chrysler is out and retooled and re-engineered, basically reorganized -- that will remain to be seen. But there's not any plan now for more aid.

RODRIGUEZ: Mr. Vice president, I'd like to ask you about the deadly flu outbreak. And I'm the mother of a toddler, so understand where I'm coming from here. Now that a toddler has died in this country from it, why shouldn't we close the border with Mexico?

We heard the president's explanation last night. It's like closing the barn door after the horses are already out. But why are we going to let more horses in? In other words, what would it hurt to close the border?

BIDEN: Closing down a classroom where everything is -- where there's a detection of contagion and you know that's how the virus spreads, or closing down public meetings is one thing. But closing down an entire border where -- as you know, this is most communicable when, in fact, you don't even know whether people are not even showing the signs of the flu -- is just a monumental undertaking, and would not have nearly the impact would be to take these mitigating circumstances.

I have four -- five toddlers; they're all grandchildren. They're all with me this weekend. I share your concern. But the best thing to do is for us to act, as the president said now, in a rational way. We're on top of this thing. We should be mitigating the prospects of it spreading.

And the way to do that is to deal with all of the things you know about as a mother, about having them wash their hands, you washing your hands, making sure that they are not in public places touching items that, in fact, have been touched by others, et cetera.

RODRIGUEZ: And lastly, regarding Senator Arlen Specter, who acknowledged that he switched to the Democratic Party because he wanted to win another term in the Senate. Are you and the president prepared to give him unconditional support, even if another Democratic candidate comes along who more closely aligns with your agenda?

BIDEN: Yes.

RODRIGUEZ: Mr. Vice President, thank you.

BIDEN: Thank you.