On 27 April 2009, the European Union health commissioner advised Europeans to postpone nonessential travel to the United States or Mexico. This followed the discovery of the first confirmed case in Spain.[82] On 6 May 2009, the Public Health Agency of Canada announced that their National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) had mapped the genetic code of the swine flu virus, the first time that had been done.[83] In the U.K., the National Health Service launched a website, the National Pandemic Flu Service,[84] allowing patients to self-assess and get an authorisation number for antiviral medication. The system was expected to reduce the burden on general practitioners.[77]
U.S. officials observed that six years of concern about H5N1 avian flu did much to prepare for the current H1N1 flu outbreak, noting that after H5N1 emerged in Asia, ultimately killing about 60% of the few hundred people infected by it over the years, many countries took steps to try to prevent any similar crisis from spreading further.[85] The CDC and other U.S. governmental agencies[86] used the summer lull to take stock of the United States' response to H1N1 flu and attempt to patch any gaps in the public health safety net before flu season started in early autumn.[87] Preparations included planning a second influenza vaccination program in addition to that for seasonal influenza, and improving coordination between federal, state and local governments and private health providers.[87] On 24 October 2009, U.S. President Obama declared swine flu a national emergency, giving Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius authority to grant waivers to requesting hospitals from usual federal requirements.[88]