Oregon Public Broadcasting

Northwest health officials, school principals, and even the media are fielding questions about whether we’re overreacting to the current flu outbreak.

Oregon's public health director was challenged point blank on that  Friday at a legislative hearing in Salem.

Dr. Mel Kohn agreed there is a potential for overreaction, which he said would undercut the government’s credibility.

Mel Kohn: “We think a great deal of overreacting.  Everything that we do -- or don’t do -- has risks and benefits to it. We are constantly trying to balance those. The reason it is such a challenge is that the information changes.”

For example, Kohn says the abrupt closure of a school might be caused by new estimates of the number of people who came in contact with a probable swine flu carrier. 

Washington’s Secretary of Health gave a similar answer when she was asked the same thing Thursday.