WASHINGTON (AFP) — The US public is safe to travel by air or subway, a top public health official said Thursday, refuting a recommendation given over the swine flu outbreak by Vice President Joe Biden.
"I think flying is safe. Going on the subway is safe. People should go out and live their lives," Richard Besser, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters.
"In terms of flights, if you have a fever and flu-like symptoms, you should not get on an airplane," he said.
But Besser added that officials involved in public health "should put in context what the risk is."
Biden triggered controversy Thursday by appearing to warn the US public against traveling on planes and subways to prevent a spread of the deadly H1N1 influenza strain.
Biden's office later issued a clarification to say the vice president was referring only to an administration warning against non-essential travel to Mexico.
But in an interview with NBC's "Today" show, the gaffe-prone Biden spoke in more general terms when asked whether he would advise his family members against flying to Mexico, the outbreak's epicenter.
"I would tell members of my family -- and I have -- I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places now," he said.
"It's not that it's going to Mexico -- it's that you're in a confined aircraft. When one person sneezes, it goes all the way through the aircraft," Biden said.
He added: "I would not be at this point, if they had another way of transportation, suggesting they ride the subway."
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