Philippines asks Cook, Archuleta to check for flu

MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- Even "American Idols" are not exempted from swine flu checks.

Philippine health authorities had to chase down David Cook and David Archuleta, the winner and the runner-up of last season's TV singing contest, to have them fill out a health checklist and report their temperatures at least twice a day before their open-air concert Saturday.

Edgardo Sabitsana, director of the quarantine bureau, said the celebrities rushed through the airport Wednesday without completing health checks that are mandatory for everyone entering the country.

Officials caught up with them in their hotel rooms Thursday and reminded them that they can be arrested if they do not cooperate, Sabitsana told The Associated Press.

"We had to mention the authority of the quarantine bureau ... that we can do something if they refuse," he said.

The singers were "very receptive, they were very cooperative," Sabitsana said.

He said they were briefed about keeping a distance of six feet from other people, what to do if they exhibit flu-like symptoms, urged to use hand sanitizers and other "little things that their handlers may forget."

Swine flu, a new human strain of influenza, has so far seen more than 6,600 cases in 33 countries and killed at least 69 people. Health officials have warned the virus could spark a pandemic, infecting millions of people with no natural immunity.

The Philippines has reported no case of swine flu, but authorities are taking no chances, especially with celebrities in contact with large numbers of fans.

The health secretary last week advised boxing star Manny Pacquiao to delay his return from the U.S. for fear he could infect huge crowds if he had fallen ill. But Pacquiao brushed aside the suggestion, saying he had no flu symptoms.

Pfizer Starts Free Drug Program for Newly Unemployed

Pfizer Inc. is offering as much as a year of free medicine, such as the Lipitor cholesterol pill and Viagra for sexual dysfunction, to Americans who lost jobs and health insurance.

The program covers more than 70 medicines for people who can demonstrate unemployment since Jan. 1, have no drug insurance and were taking a Pfizer product for at least three months before the job loss, the New York-based drugmaker said today in a statement.

Jorge Puente, regional president for worldwide pharmaceuticals, suggested the program a month ago to help the 46 million Americans without health insurance, Pfizer said. The number of people collecting unemployment insurance was 6.56 million last week and the jobless rate has climbed to 8.9 percent, the highest since 1983, according to U.S. Department of Labor.

“The current economic environment has added considerable new stress to the daily life of millions of hard-working Americans, and our colleagues are responding to help their neighbors in the communities where they reside,” said Pfizer Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Kindler. “We are doing what we can to ensure that recent loss of employment does not preclude people from managing their health.”

A Pfizer spokesman, Ray Kerins, declined to say how much the program would cost Pfizer or how many people may be eligible.

Patients have been switching from brand-name drugs to generic copies that cost a fraction of the price, according to IMS Health Inc., a research company based in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Generic Zocor

Pfizer has said sales of Lipitor have declined since generic copies of Zocor, a rival cholesterol pill made by Merck & Co. of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, came on the market in 2006. Lipitor costs about $4 a pill compared with less than $1 for generic Zocor, or simvastatin.

To get free Pfizer drugs, patients must “attest to financial hardship.” The medicines are available free for as much as a year or until the patient finds a job. Pfizer said people who are interested in enrolling in the program should go to www.PfizerHelpfulAnswers.com.