She said their health problems range from "serious" to "not so serious, " and that the people getting the larger awards tended to be younger, and to have suffered more severe economic losses.

WSJ: 9/11 fund makes 1st payments to sick responders

In fact, the sooner cities moved to limit public gatherings or isolate patients, the less severe their experience tended to be -- as much as an eight- or ninefold difference in case and death rates, he says.

CNN: Scientists dig for lessons from past pandemics