(CNN) – The H1N1 virus commonly known as 'swine flu' has hit Capitol Hill.
Rep. Greg Walden, a Republican from Oregon, tweeted Monday evening a doctor diagnosed him with the virus and is heading off to "seclusion for a while."
Andrew Whelan, Walden's press secretary, confirmed to CNN the congressman has fallen victim to swine flu and is following his doctor's orders to "get some rest and take it easy."
Walden appears to be the first member of Congress to come down with H1N1, though other representatives have said their children have contracted the virus.
CNN's Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report
From CNN Politics
© 2011 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
| Advertising practices | Advertise with us | About us | Contact us | Work for us | Help
and GUESS WHAT he has the best health care available, paid for the by the American taxpayer....Gee if we could only yank that safety net out from under some of those republicans for a month or two maybe they would realize what a lot of American citizens without THAT HEALTH INSURANCE are going thru.
Don't let them fool you!!! Swine flu was developed in the secret underground laboratory of the narcisstic obamabots!!!! They tell you their giving your grandbabies the vaccine. Then a week later one of your grandbabies is stomping around the house in a Chay Guevaro t-shirt and a buray hat shouting "workers of the world unite" and your other grandbaby is trying to explain to anybody who listens about how the proletarians are being exploited!!!!! Then your grandbabies turn you in to the illegle aliens and union thugs from ACORN for having an assault rifle!!! And then they take you in front of the death panel!!!!! You know how to avoid all this? If anybody tries to give you the vaccine, ask to see there birth certificate. If they can't produce one guess what? Their an obamabot!!!!!!Be afraid. Be very afraid!!!!!!!! Have a nice day!
Hope he can get back soon so he can vote against helping Americans.
Lucky you...you have health care...hope this will make you think about others...
who paid for his doctor visit?
maybe this will inspire him to motivate the rest of his party to stop getting in the way of healthcare overhaul?
You gotta stay away from filthy politicians. Good luck with that, and get well soon.
Get well soon!
Wouldn't matter if this new "health-care" legislation had passed already or not, he's a legislator so he is exempt from the health care bill.
Lucky for him he has excellent health insurance (which we all pay for). How many thousands have been diagnosed with swine flu and don't have health insurance?
Correction:
He has EMPLOYER provided health care. The government is his EMPLOYER. He works for a living.
He is not sitting on his rear, watching Oprah and eating Doritos, and waiting for a welfare check and a public health care card so he can get free Methadone.
I wonder if he likes HIS, free, taxpayer funded, Government Run Healthcare Plan now???!!! Or would he rather give it up to purchase a private policy out of his own pocket instead of the free taxpayer funded ride he currently enjoy's right now! HYPOCRIT!!!!!
If he would have contracted the seasonal flu, this would not even be on the news. These news outlets need to stop the fear mongering and panic spreading. Let this flu strain run its course. Give them the same advice that is given every year with regards to the flu. Stop reporting every single case in every town or city or state, and the people will begin to calm down and think rationally.
It's a nasty flu/virus.....Get well!
ps..CNN please let Ed Rollins know the article on woman was beautiful....and a wonderful tribute to all woman, his mother included.
Well atleast he has Healthcare Goverment good Healthcare at that
Good thing the congressman has decent health insurance!
if the Obozo administration had done a better job proving the vaccine, per haps this gentleman would not be ill......again, The Messiah fails us
I hope the senator gets better soon. He must have a good government provided health care. I think we should have HIS type of health care, but the first step is the public option.
He has a great medical plan so he isn't worried about his health!
Who is paying for his great health care coverage..........now all you American taxpayers, let me hear you say
"ME."
Good thing this Congressman has a public health plan that he can use.
Maybe if congress gets the swine flu we can keep them out of session so that they don't pass this crazy health reform legislation or any other crazy legislation.
The Federal Government has only provided 25% of the Swine Flu vaccines that were promised. Nice Job.
The Lack of Swine Flu Vaccines = Obama's Katrina Moment.
Now lets see if it gets reported that way.
Has anyone ever thought about this Swine Flu outbreak is an act of Terrorist? Is it so hard for the government to think about this?
Instead of using homemade bombs to blow up our bridges, buildings and government offices, the terrorists are smart enough to use their friendly bugs to kill us.
Just want to know, if these gentlemen got the Swine flu shot? Because, as a health professional, I've still not decided if I should get the shot or not, and if they did, I've got my answer, thank you.
Isn't it nice to be able to take off and see a doctor when so many others can't.
I hope the Congressman questions his fellow GOP congressmen about their opinions last Spring, when they advised the country and the President not to waste time and money develping an H!N1 vaccine and the the Swine ful issue was fake and a Democratic Party plot to distract from the economic crisis.
I guess he did not learn to listen to HHS Secretary Sebilious about coughing on his sleeve and wiping his hands after being on the hill.
What happens when they close Congress over this outbreak? It is the schools, at work and with little vaccine to go around and noe Congress. Simply ironic.
At least he has affordable health care, paid for by us of course.
I wish him well, with a good insurance plan which includes a PUBLIC OPTION.
Don't worry< he has taxpayer paid insurance so what ever it takes to get him well it will not cost him a dime. only the poor working slobs that have no insurance.now he can go back to the hill and vote against helping americans.
Bet he has good health care
Get well soon sir..we need you back as soon as possible to prevent the unconstituional health care bill from being passed
Hope the gentleman gets well soon. Oh, and Some Republican Guy...well done. That just about sums up the whole right wing paranoid tantrum. Keep the funny stuff rolling, we need it right now.
This shouldn't be any news since thousands, if not millions, of Americans are going through it, including my family! Unless perhaps you look at it through the lens of healthcare reform. This bozo has health insurance and can get the best care available. Millions of Americans don't and will either die or end up in emergency rooms with exorbitant costs associated with it. It's time for reform now with a public option, which the CBO now projects, will actually reduce the deficit.
Is it interesting how these things come about huh? Swine flu epidemic right in line with these Healthcare debates. Gives you pause for thought. This Congressman will hopefully get some unfretful bedrest, take his meds, and be back on the job in a week or two. He'll lay in bed thinking about anything and everything except the fact that he CAN'T afford to be sick for too long because his health insurance will not cover his illness after x period of time. People who have been ill will tell you that your frame of mind while you're convalescing has a lot to do with how quickly you recover. If you're worrying about not been able to afford getting sick chances are your recovery will not be as expedient.
Your'e very lucky Mr. Congressman. Wish everyone was as lucky.
I suppose God had a reason for punishing this Republican with H1N1. I guess God wants more Republicans to support the right to health care for all...
Politics aside, I wouldn't want anyone to get swine flu, regardless of political sides they are in.
Good luck.
It was inevitable that the Swine on Capitol Hill would contract the Swine flu. It will probably run throught the whole herd.
Lucky you. You get to miss work. Be sure and get lots of rest and get well soon. You wouldn't want to miss voting 'NO' for healthcare, now would you?
He can afford to stay home, get excellent healthcare and at the same time be paid. Can you?
Rep. Walden is doing the right thing by isolating himself – the recommendation is to stay away from people until you're fever-free for 24 hours without the use of medication.
I hope that he recovers soon and that no one else in his family/friends/collegues catches it! (And then I hope he votes for meaningful health care reform, to include a robust public option and the elimination of exclusion for pre-existing conditions.)
Get well soon!
thats a darn shame
I'm a Democrat and a supporter of the public option, and I wish the Congressman a speedy recovery. No one wants this swine flu to take another life, or make others ill.
I think he did the responsible thing in notifying everyone and going into seclusion.
Get well soon, Congressman.
Now if the people would take away the insurance coverage for members of Congress MAYBE they'd feel like the rest of us! Swine flu for lobbiest sucking pigs... who would have thought?
Get well quickly but how I wish you didn't have insurance!! just to experience what common folks goes through!!
Get well soon! Hope it isnt too bad.
So, maybe now they'll notice how far behind the gov't is on their H1N1 vaccination schedule???
Sorry about that. I wish you a quick recovery
Sincerely, all the best for a speedy recovery Rep Walden. And I am sure you are happy you have health insurance. A public option is the right thing to do. Give some reflective thought to this while "in seclusion for a while".
Lucky for him he has a good healthcare plan. Now wouldn't it be nice if he thought that should have access.
So, the congressman could go to a doctor, eh? Good for him! Now allow everyone to have that opportunity–pass Health Care NOW!
GOOD! Now maybe they will do something about it. It's too late for my son's friend who died this morning from it, he was only 18 years old.
But no worries, he is fortunate enough to HAVE health care insurance. 14,000 people lose their coverage on a daily basis. Of the lucky ones that have coverage, if you or a family member don't have a pre-existing condition now, you will.
This is not just worrisome – this is an emergency crisis.
Make him the poster boy for his own Free Government Run Health Care Policy.
I'm a DEM so I do hope he gets well soon. No matter what he votes for.
If the doctors in the rest of the nation are not testing for H1N1 unless a person is admitted to the hospital then how does he know he has H1N1? He is not in the hospital. People at their level get the test for H1N1 but I guess us at JOE citizen level don't. Another example of the unbalance of health care in this country?
At least he doesn't have to worry about losing his job if he is out with N1H1 for a week or more.
I bet the Congressman is enjoying his government run health care. Something we Americans need to control the corrupt insurance companies.
At least he has health insurance so he can see his doctor. That's more than I can say. We don't have health insurance. We don't go to the doctor. Still waiting to get that coverage that "congress gives themselves." Sigh.
Hope you get better fast...drink lots of chicken soup
The Republicans complain about socialism while they line up for their free, taxpayer funded premium healthcare. They all have a pre-existing conditions. Most are greedy, selfish, hypocritical and just plain stupid. They always forget ... "We the People".
I figured that Congress is where the Swine flu started ....seems to me most have been infected for a long time.....
And this guy gets the best of medical care AND gets to take unlimited time off his job without losing a penny of HIS paycheck and not even receiving a bill from his doctor!!!!! And to top it all off he gets tons of money from the insurance lobby to make sure that that those of us who pay for his health care and his paycheck never have the same opportunity. May he suffer long and hard along with the hate filled mindless cretins that voted him into office.
This may turn out to be a seriously interesting and/or revealing flu season. may everyone learn to wash, wash, wash for the good of all. may those who clean the Commons do a very good job. And finally may we all find our way to Health before we are outdone by Mother Nature. Get well all you sick ones, Please! Peace, Love and hand Sanitizer!
Good thing he got the swine flu instead of me or my family!! He has medical insurance and we don't. At least he gets free SOCIALIZED medical care courtesy of the American taxpayer. Maybe when he gets better he will realize how lucky he is compared to millions of Americans who have no health care coverage. If my family gets sick, we will just have to die of our illnesses. I think he should thank us for giving him his SOCIALIZED medicine by voting for Obama's health care reform!! It is the least he can do. The only way we can get health care is to be a politician on the state or federal level or be in the military. They get SOCIALIZED medical care and we don't.
I guess it's a good thing (for him) that he has the best health insurance available, at no cost to him, unlike a large percentage of us regular working stiffs! If I'm not mistaken he gets that for the rest of his life, again at no cost to him.
Maybe if the doctor would give a note to all Republicans and send them home to rest then we could get a health care bill passed and even let Republicans be covered too.
Wow, look at all the compassion from the liberals. Hypocrites.
A guy falls in and you use it as an excuse to launch a personal attack. Whatever happened to a simple "get well soon"? Has this country degenerated into a society of hatred and spite?
Either way, the flu isn't fun regardless of strain. To a speedy recovery!
I can't believe you people. This man is sick and all you can do is trash him. This is what's wrong with this country. We should all work together and get this health care passed. Everybody should have health insurance. More people would be going to the doctor sooner and this epidemic wouldn't get out of hand.
Why are you thrashing his health care? He is employed and his employer supplies it. I have a business and I supply my employees with insurance.
He'd make a good guinea pig for the vaccine.
It is a sure bet that his insurance will cover his medical condition. If he had a cold before, is that a preexisting condition?
Government employees DO NOT have government insurance. They have private insurance, usually BCBS or UHC. The cost comes out of their pay check just like everyone else who has employeer provided health insurance.
And it's just the flu for crying out loud. Nobody is going bankrupt because of the flu.
He'll be fine.
No matter what party you are from, you have to wish this man a get well soon wish. I hope he is well and back on his feet to serve his community. I am an Independent/ Conservative Democrat wishing him a speedy and robust recovery. People just because you are from a different party does not mean that you have to attack the oppisite side all the time.
PS: We are all Americans, all 307 million of us. Healthcare affects everyone from every side of the isle. Healhcare is an American issue and a moral issue to possibly saving a human life.
All people who love money more than a human life deserves to burn in Hell forever, as far as I am concerned. That includes you Wall Street. CNN, post this!