by wildcherry on Thursday, October 15th, 2009 | Health, News

As of October 9th, 19 Illinoisans have died as a result of H1N1, according to the state Department of Public Health.

From a public health point of view, there hasn’t been much seasonal flu in the community,” said William Werner, the president of the Chicago Medical Society. “So I don’t think there should be a sense of panic.”

But some families have complained about not finding the vaccine at their own trusted doctor’s office, and many pharmacies are not allowed to administer flu vaccine to children younger than 14. So some parents have had to search among pharmacies or wait for a later shipment to a doctor’s office.

On Wednesday, Gov. Pat Quinn’s office announced it would lower the age at which children can be vaccinated by pharmacists to 9. The action would apply to both seasonal and H1N1 flu, but only for 30 days unless state officials extend the period.

Walgreens, the largest pharmacy chain nationwide, already has given 4 million seasonal flu shots since Sept. 1, compared with 1.2 million seasonal shots the entire flu season last year, according to Walgreen Co. representative Vivika Vergara.

Grant, the CDC spokesman, said 77 million seasonal flu vaccine doses have been shipped out across the country and 37 million more are expected to be delivered.

Across the Chicago area, the delay has meant some doctors’ offices have received only part of their shipment, if any at all.

Six free clinics will be opened in Chicago to help combat the H1N1 swine flu pandemic, the city’s health department said Tuesday.

Health officials said free clinics will be set up at six City College locations (all except Harold Washington) to administer the two million doses of swine flu vaccine the city expects to get from the federal government. A first shipment of 16,000 nasal-spray vaccines arrived last week and is being administered to the most at-risk. The city expects weekly shipments of between 50,000 to 150,000 doses of the vaccine.

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