2 area swine flu deaths bring state total to 36

A 12-year-old boy from Buffalo Grove and a 41-year-old Elgin woman are the latest to die from swine flu. Both had underlying health problems, health officials said Friday. There had been 36 H1N1-related deaths statewide as of Friday.

Only about a third of adults who have tried to get a swine flu vaccine have been able to get it, according to a new national poll. That's true even for people at extra risk for severe complications who should be at the front of the line. The numbers are about the same for parents who tried to get the vaccine for their higher-risk children, the Harvard School of Public Health poll of 1,000 adults found.

The Chicago Public Health Department is adding a seventh flu vaccination site for city residents at high risk for the swine flu virus, officials said Friday. For the next three Saturdays, swine flu vaccinations will be available on a first-come, first-served basis from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Malcolm X College, 1900 W. Van Buren. The city health department said it has vaccinated more than 42,000 people so far at its six other flu clinics.

Milwaukee police have arrested a 38-year-old man accused of stealing a truck carrying 900 doses of swine flu vaccine. The truck was taken Thursday night as it idled outside a swine flu clinic. Officers found the abandoned truck less than an hour later with the vaccine apparently intact. But a city health official said the vaccine is considered "compromised" and can't be used because it was out of city possession.

Sun-Times Staff, AP