Kathleen Sebelius Confirmed, Sworn in as HHS Secretary

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Related subjects: Americas, Global, Health Science, Healthcare Policy, J.E. Robertson, Obama administration, Obama's 1st 100 days, U.S. news, U.S. Politics Comments Off

29 April 2009 :: J.E. Robertson

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius was today confirmed by the US Senate as Secretary of Health and Human Services, and sworn in as the latest member of Pres. Barack Obama’s cabinet. This White House photo by Peter Souza shows Sebelius being briefed today on the US response to the 2009 H1N1 flu virus outbreak, reported to have begun in Mexico City.

Sebelius’ swearing in is another positive turn of events for Pres. Obama, on his 100th day in office, as her filling the HHS post, along with passage of the FY2010 budget and Sen. Specter’s switching parties, all converge to make it far more likely Obama will be able to achieve major healthcare reform, starting with initial legislation this year.

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The bulk of Sebelius’ labors will likely be devoted, during her tenure at HHS, to Obama’s bold plans for reform of the US healthcare system, with the aim of making sure every American has access to “quality, affordable healthcare”. But on her first day at the post, she was immediately thrust into the heart of a global health scare, as the first confirmed H1N1 death occurred in the US.

A Mexican citizen visiting her relatives in Texas became the first known fatality in US territory resulting from the swine flu or 2009 H1N1 flu virus. The ‘multi-strain’ virus combines DNA segments from avian species, as well as pig and human. It is thought to spread more easily due to low immune resistance in the human population, which has not previously faced this particular strain of influenza.

Warning that “we need all hands on deck”, Pres. Obama spoke briefly upon Sec. Sebelius’ swearing in, saying:

Here we go. We’re just going to make a brief statement. I am thrilled to have Kathleen Sebelius as my new Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Obviously, we have a lot to do to make sure that health care is affordable for the American people, to deal with critical issues like food safety. But we wanted to swear her in right away because we’ve got a significant public health challenge that requires her immediate attention, and that is the H1N1 flu outbreak that we’ve seen initially in Mexico and we now see over at — got some cases here in the United States.

It is something that we have to monitor very carefully. The officials who have been in charge, including the Acting Director at the CDC, those at Department of Homeland Security, have done an outstanding job, a superb job, in managing the situation up to this point.

Her confirmation held up due to some Republicans’ opposition to her pro-choice stance on abortion and women’s rights, a 60-vote majority was required in order to confirm Sebelius and avert a filibuster. The LA Times reported today:

The 65-31 vote came after Democrats urged quick action so that Sebelius could get to work leading the federal response to the flu outbreak.

“We find ourselves in the midst of a global crisis,” Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) said. “What we’ve been missing in all of this is the head of the Health and Human Services Department.”

The former Kansas governor was briefed by Obama’s Homeland Security advisor John Brennan, just hours after being confirmed last night, then sworn in this morning. Pres. Obama said he expects her “to hit the ground running”, part of the president’s no-nonsense attitude about doing the work of public service and a signal the administration is taking the swine flu outbreak as a serious public health issue.

The AP’s Charles Babington observed the administration’s effort to get the message out on responsible flu-prevention and treatment options:

President Barack Obama tries to learn from his predecessors’ mistakes, and some see his fast, wide-ranging response to the swine flu threat as a lesson learned from George W. Bush’s much-maligned handling of Hurricane Katrina.

With one confirmed flu death in the United States, it is unclear how severely the disease will affect the nation. But the White House’s communications team forsook a wait-and-see approach Wednesday, sending Obama and several Cabinet members before cameras and Congress to urge vigilance without panic.

‘Vigilance without panic’ or ‘alert without alarm’ has been the message from the beginning. The administration has urged the public to act with common sense about hygiene and about avoiding contact with too many people or with people who might be ill. But the public has been warned not to flood clinics and hospitals in an effort to get preemptive tests (as there is no such effective test) or swine flu vaccinations (as none yet exist).

Sebelius will likely follow Obama’s lead on public demeanor, urging concern, calm and common sense. But Sebelius, as the top health official in the country, can now begin better implementing an organized federal emergency response to the outbreak, which has spread to Israel, and has for the first time left one patient dead on US soil. Other than the one patient visiting relatives in Texas, no other American cases have led to death, and only 5 hospitalizations have been reported.

• Daily updates from the World Health Organization on the H1N1 flu outbreak
• Daily updates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the H1N1 flu outbreak
• Café Sentido’s ongoing coverage of the H1N1 flu outbreak

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