Biden: I Told Family To Avoid Planes, Subway Over Swine Flu (VIDEO)

WASHINGTON — Vice President Joe Biden says he's advising his own family to avoid "confined places" -- to stay off commercial airlines and even subways -- because of the new swine flu.

Biden said Thursday if one person sneezes on a confined aircraft, "it goes all the way through the aircraft." Going beyond official advice from the federal government, Biden said of his family's personal precautions: "That's me."

Asked on NBC's "Today" show whether the government should close the border with Mexico to try to slow the spread of the flu, Biden says health authorities advise that would be impractical because the swine flu has already spread to the U.S. and several other nations. Instead, he says people should focus on confined places where the flu could spread quickly, such as airplanes, malls and classrooms.

Biden spokesperson Elizabeth Alexander released a statement shortly after the appearance, clarifying his remarks:

"On the Today Show this morning 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. This is the advice the Vice President has given family members who are traveling by commercial airline this week. As the President said just last night, every American should take the same steps you would take to prevent any other flu: keep your hands washed; cover your mouth when you cough; stay home from work if you're sick; and keep your children home from school if they're sick."

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Comments

[archtoplee]

11:24 PM on 05/01/2009

I thought that the paranoia left office wilth Cheny and Bush. One "sneeze" on a plane.

This is a replay of Gerald "Poland is not dominated by the USSR" Ford. His predictions with the "swine flu" were as bad as his golf game!

[gracie99]

08:33 AM on 05/03/2009

Sneezing is a major route of transmission for this flu, so if one really wants to avoid it, Biden's original advice was right.

[dreffein]

02:19 PM on 05/01/2009

Joe continues to be a distraction to the President's agenda. Put him in Dick Cheney's bunker for the balance of the next 4 years and then Obama should pick a new VP to run with him in 2012. Joe and Dr. Jill will be ready for retirement by then, Obama will have overcome the need to balance his ticket with experience and we can get someone who might be a real contender in 2016 after Obama's second term.

[ChampLessFuzzy]

05:17 PM on 05/01/2009

This is of course a diengenuous attempt by a commenter to continue the exact wording that has been found posted several times through this thread...exact wording is spam and spam should be removed. This commenter posts same language throughout other JB threads, and it is spam and inappropriate for HP blog.

[SparkyDash]

06:03 PM on 05/01/2009

Those posts were scrubbed this morning. Good riddance and thanks from the thread!

[dreffein]

11:50 AM on 05/02/2009

Still here. Do you have a problem with the 1st Amendment?

[Joe Hayden]

01:33 PM on 05/01/2009

You can't help but like Joe Biden. But let's face it: For the sake of the public, it's time to move the vice president to one of Cheney's old "secure, undisclosed locations."

[gracie99]

08:37 AM on 05/03/2009

As long as he remains likable, why bother with the bunker? It's not like he spews really damaging remarks. It's just little stuff.

And he's right about the swine flu being transmitted by sneezes of people nearby in places like plans and elevators and trains. It bugs me that he's getting criticized for being honest, even though he's deviating from the public policy line.

[Firbolg]

01:08 PM on 05/01/2009

Outrageous and un-American! As VP Biden should respect American values, so perfectly described by President Calvin Coolidge so many years ago when he said "The business of America is business." People are transient but business is supposed to be immortal (too big and important to fail) and we must all sacrafice our money and our children's money to preserve it and do nothing to casue it harm. Anything else is Socialism! What will he be advocating next, one asks, using turn signals and adverbs, no doubt. Where will it all end.

[ChampLessFuzzy]

05:25 PM on 05/01/2009

Are you Rep Harkin? Harkin, who staffs transportation committee, also threw the American public under the bus when he placed the importance of the transportation industry above the value of health and lives of Americans.

[gracie99]

08:39 AM on 05/03/2009

YES! YOU MUST GO TO WORK, using politically correct public transportation, even if it means riding in a stuffy bus crammed up against sneezing, coughing, virus-producers! Don't even think about driving! Don't even think about taking a short vacation!

[Mike Marino]

12:09 PM on 05/01/2009

Look I'm BO/JB supporter but way to put down the aviation industry. People are going to hear "Don't fly!". That's not going to help an already floundering industry.

[ChampLessFuzzy]

05:44 PM on 05/01/2009

You, unlike Biden, are not giving Americans credit for having and using brains and common sense. It is up to all of us to use precautionary and preventative measures during this flu's run. Each individual and each family has a responsibiltiy to take information and use it when making decisions.

[dax49]

09:32 AM on 05/01/2009

fox had a field day with this, which is laughable, since it is only common sense

[C65]

10:29 AM on 05/01/2009

THIS IS WHY I LIKE JOE BIDEN,HE SPEAKS LIKE ORDINARY PEOPLE THINK.
HONEST,NO TALKING POINTS.MAYBE WASHINGTON SHOULD TRY IT SOMETIMES
IT WOULD PUT THEM IN A MORE FAVORABLE LIGHT WITH AMERICA.JOE,PROVED
WORKING IN WASHINGTON AND NOT LIVING THERE GIVES YOU A CHANCE TO
BREATH FRESH AIR AND NOT BE CONJECTED BY TALKING POINTS.
JOE BIDEN IS NOT A GASP MACHINE,HE'S HONEST-THEY ALL SHOULD FOLLOW
HIS LEAD,THEN WE WILL LEARN TO TRUST WHAT THEY SAY.GO!GO! JOE.

[ChampLessFuzzy]

05:26 PM on 05/01/2009

Fox is anything but common sense. They are tea-bagging faux noise.

[lunaticphilosopher]

07:38 AM on 05/01/2009

Maybe he can help Day Quayle spell "potatoe" .

[ChampLessFuzzy]

07:40 AM on 05/01/2009

how not funny you are

[Chad53916]

07:00 AM on 05/01/2009

I wish more people could say it like it is. He was asked a question and he answered honestly. It's a shame that we demand our politicians to be anything less. I don't care if sneeze droplets only go 3 feet directly. Attendents and others will carry that throughout the plane. It's not fear mongering, it's common sense.

[ChampLessFuzzy]

07:24 AM on 05/01/2009

There are few I respect as much as Biden. Your words "The problem is not with Joe Biden. It's with us. We love to tear people down. It makes us feel better about ourselves." ring true. Too bad MSM seems to find him such a target, make more of nothing, and bring out the worse people to agree. I think I am very tired of smallness in the media with regards to Biden.

[Taratrue]

03:33 PM on 05/01/2009

I totally agree. He is the ONLY one being honest. I love Obama but I believe the administration is holding back out of concern we will panic. I can't help but notice there is little or no mention of preparing for social distancing. Mexico has closed down for a week or more. We may be asked to do so ourselves if things get worse or if the virus mutates into a more lethal one.

[oldgeek1]

06:54 AM on 05/01/2009

Anyone with an ounce of common sense would follow the advice of the VP. The concern that has been expressed and the story being covered and sold by the press is that this is a possible "Pandemic". Why would you expose your self to people in this situation.

I understand the travel industry and destinations are upset, they care about losing customers and not protecting public health. If the Bidden is wrong then so is the press and all the news reporters and outlets that who have been covering the story as if the flu is a threat, have been lying.

I have told my family the same thing Joe Bidden has told his.

[dav ram58]

02:49 AM on 05/01/2009

What's the big deal about what Bide said? All he did was describe how he and his family are handling the swine flu problem. He wasn't advising anybody else...

[leonel]

02:13 AM on 05/01/2009

BIDEN II
I wanted to add some more comment about psychoanalyzing VP Biden. He is a great person and I agree with him completely, but it is a distraction the way the media deals with things. Prez. Obama has a sterling personality and people cannot believe the country is so lucky. So the media will look for a contrast and see anything the VP says in the opposite. Just human nature. What Biden said was not wrong but the media will turn it around to add to their criticism. That is why he needs to be extremely careful. He needs to appear presidential and be ready to step in. If he lets the media define him as being a loose talker, the public will be scared. The White House will also see that in the days and years ahead there will be a need to control more who speaks out, especially in even a minor crisis.

[leonel]

01:39 AM on 05/01/2009

MORTAR MOUTH JOE BIDEN.
There is a way to get to him if he is bugging too many people but it needs to be indirect and psychological because he is a lovable type. Talk to his wife. Maybe wives should talk, who knows. Hire him a shrink or a speech writer. Make fun of him. Hire him a body guard. Get Jay Leno, etc., to work on problem. His problem is psychological definitely. He is unconsciously trying to attract attention and he is not aware of it, so he keeps it up. No way should he be on ticket for reelection. That may be enough to scare him. It would be painful for him to bite his tongue and it would take a lot of patience. He is an undisciplined slob for such a high prestige position. He might not want to try and Obama may not want to bother. Only they know, but it is getting old and bigger problems are coming up.

[Chad53916]

07:10 AM on 05/01/2009

Leonel: Welcome to the "Mountain Out Of A Molehill Club"! You could probably stand in front of God and start picking. The problem is not with Joe Biden. It's with us. We love to tear people down. It makes us feel better about ourselves. Our "problem is psychological definitely".

[ChampLessFuzzy]

07:19 AM on 05/01/2009

And how did an intelligent adult get on to this thread? Glad to see you.

[bgofca]

12:48 AM on 05/01/2009

We love Joe because he really says what he thinks , not just what someone would say is the correct thing to say. I think his advise is just common sense that anyone should follow anytime there is a time when there is a lot of flu going around, especially for those on chemo, or who are fragile, very young or elderly.
Joe is a very knowledgeable person who is an asset to President Obama.

[Chad53916]

07:11 AM on 05/01/2009

Hear Hear!

[ChampLessFuzzy]

07:19 AM on 05/01/2009

Total ditto!

[Roguewolf]

12:10 AM on 05/01/2009

"I think the vice president misrepresented what the vice president wanted to say," said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

"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," said Elizabeth Alexander, the vice president's spokeswoman, rewriting Biden's comments a bit.

"If they are sick, they should avoid airplanes and other confined public spaces, such as subways," she said.

Later in the day, Gibbs was pressed about the discrepancy between Biden's original words and the White House's.

"I understand what he said. I'm telling you what he meant to say," Gibbs said.

"Obviously, if anyone was alarmed," he went on, "we apologize for that."

[Roguewolf]

12:16 AM on 05/01/2009

"I understand what he said. I'm telling you what he meant to say," Gibbs said.

This will be Gibbs permanent job from now on.

[mrsbee]

03:30 PM on 05/01/2009

I think Gibbs is the one who makes gaffes...he should be trained better in sticking up for the Pres and VP

[GabbyLove]

11:55 PM on 04/30/2009

About time we get somebody with some "stones" to tell the truth.Let's examine a few points. (1)Joe Biden is the V.P who has access to reports the general public doesn't see. (2) The WHO raised the threat level to 5 as to recognizing the effect of the swine flu virus being pandemic. (3)There is no swine flu vaccine it may take over 6-8 months for them to make some...this is a different strain. (4) Since our borders are not really closed and due to swine flu able to be transferred by person to person easily we can't be naive to believe if everybody on a plane,train,etc. is healthy. How many sick people does it take to spread the virus on a plane for example? One...(5) This virus really affects healthy people unlike other viruses...and (6)People have died.

So bravo for Joe for telling the truth when asked what he told his family. Forget what the commentators etc. say,until there is a handle on this swine flu,I'm with Joe.

[wantthetruth]

12:08 AM on 05/01/2009

If Biden has access to these "secret" reports and had the "stones" to tell the truth, then why did so many in the administration (Gibbs, Sebelius, Napolitano, LaHood, CDC, etc) clarify his statement?
Are you saying that Biden is the ONLY one in the administration that has the best interests of the American people in mind?

[Chad53916]

07:20 AM on 05/01/2009

Joe's "fault" is that he speaks with candor. Do you really think most people in the administration, after a lifetime of hard work to get where they are, are going to blow it by speaking their minds? This runs almost everywhere. As engineer, I've seen problems with products and really can't tell the customer I have to work with the truth. It's a very complicated process that involves higher ups to make sure we don't admit anything that makes us liable.

[mrsbee]

03:26 PM on 05/01/2009

Joe Biden is absolutely right...he gave an honest answer to a question asked about what he would tell his family... he even said "that's just me" ...actually me and my family and friends are already doing just that...avoiding crowds and public places that are not necessary...I'm sure there are many people who are sick and not reporting it....they never have the correct numbers...everyone should just lay off Joe Biden...I'm getting sick of it...he is an honest man and one of us...the reason the commentators and politicians are reacting is because corporate American is scared of losing $$$...and of course, Corporate America has to be protected at all costs !!!!

[MsIrisMG]

01:49 AM on 05/01/2009

I agree. Nobody has convinced me that what Joe Biden said was wrong. I've been on several planes, and you do breathe recirculated air. The moment I step off a plane and breathe fresh air, I feel better, and that's just after a two hour flight.

People are so skittish about losing money these days. The pork industry is afraid of being associated with swine flu, so they had them change the name of it. The airline industry doesn't want to lose customers over the flu either, so they have to dismiss the Vice President's very commonsense advice. But swine flu did start from pigs, hence the name, and if Joe's advice is good enough for his family, it's good enough for me. Belittling the man because he lives an hour away by train doesn't wash with me. I think it was wrong of the White House press secretary to humiliate Joe Biden the way he did. He was only calling it as he sees it.

[mrsbee]

03:28 PM on 05/01/2009

I agree with msiris...Gibbs was humiliating to Biden...he should not allow the reporters to make fun of him

[Taratrue]

03:35 PM on 05/01/2009

I totally agree. Well said.