Flawed Comparison on Coronavirus, H1N1 Emergency Timelines
Quick Take
Facebook posts falsely claim that it “took [President Barack] Obama ‘millions infected and over 1,000 deaths’ to declare the H1N1 flu a health emergency,” but President Donald Trump “declared a health emergency” before the first coronavirus death. In reality, both administrations declared public health emergencies before the first reported deaths.
Full Story
We’ve previously dissected President Donald Trump’s faulty comparisons between his response to the novel coronavirus pandemic and former President Barack Obama’s handling of the H1N1 “swine flu” pandemic.
But misleading comparisons persist, and recent social media posts twist the facts about the timing of emergency declarations for the two outbreaks.
