H1N1 Updates: Legal protections for vaccine makers and WHO gives up on counting cases

The Associated Press: Legal immunity set for swine flu vaccine makers: "Vaccine makers and federal officials will be immune from lawsuits that result from any new swine flu vaccine, under a document signed by Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, government health officials said Friday."

1. How severe is the current crisis?

2. UN health agency gives up on counting swine flu: The World Health Organization says it will stop counting individual cases of swine flu.

3. Tracking individual swine flu cases is too overwhelming for countries where the virus is spreading widely, the agency stated, "WHO will no longer issue global totals of swine flu cases, although it will continue to track the global epidemic."

4. WHO says countries should look for signs the virus is mutating, such as changes in the way swine flu is spreading, surges in hospital visits or more severe cases ...

5. WHO had reported nearly 95,000 cases including 429 deaths worldwide. But the numbers are outdated, with United Kingdom estimating it had 55,000 new cases last week alone.