More than two-thirds of the public are pleased with government response to swine flu, a minister has said.
Over 70 per cent of people think the government is very or fairly well prepared to deal with the pandemic, the public health minister said.
Giving evidence to the House of Lords science and technology committee, Gillian Merron highlighted the poll of 1,000 people taken at the end of June.
She also confirmed that the government would continue with its research into public attitudes towards the disease.
The number of swine flu cases continues to rise daily, she told the peers.
"The main thing that strikes me... is that we are not in a theoretical situation," she said. "We are very much living it day to day.
"The virus is generally mild in most people, although it has proven to be more severe in a small number of cases. The majority of those have got underlying health conditions.
"We have recently adapted our approach so that we can respond more flexibly to local situations as we find ourselves with concentrations across parts of the UK."
And Merron also informed the committee that doctors are now diagnosing swine flu without waiting for lab tests in some hotspots.
This means that anti-virals can be dispensed immediately, she explained.
Whether there is a swab or lab test depends of a "local assessment" of the situation.
There will also be "a more targeted use" of anti-virals, she added.
But she admitted that swine flu is a "major test" for the government.
"We have got certain hotspot areas and what we are seeing is widespread contamination in certain communities," she said.
"It is extremely important that we keep the public with us and that they feel secure in our ability."
Witnesses explained that response centres have been established in every region.
The flu response centres are run by the Health Protection Agency with support from the NHS, Merron explained.
The minister also confirmed that anti-viral collection points to be set up by primary care trusts are "in a good place" in terms of development.
On vaccination, Professor Sir Gordon Duff from SAGE explained that the use of Tamiflu around the world had been "rather large" and that the drug's public safety record is "extremely good".
"There are very few reports of serious reactions," he told the committee. "It is, I think you could say, a safe drug given that there is no such thing as a drug that carries no risk."
And Merron explained that the director of immunisation wrote to immunisation co-ordinators in primary care trusts last month to inform them about government guidelines.
"We are working on a very comprehensive approach to the public so that they understand vaccination," she said.
She added that the public should also know that the Department of Health had not forgotten about seasonal flu.
Turning to the flu helpline, Merron confirmed that the interim national flu pandemic service could be mobilised "in about a week". It will be accessible online or by using an 0800 number.
The full service will be available in the autumn, she said, which will be able to feed back to local health services.
The full "groundbreaking" flu line was delayed because of the outbreak, she explained. "We felt that we needed something sooner."
