Another swine-flu death reported in Spokane

Swine flu has been linked to the death Monday of a Spokane man in his 70s, health officials reported. The man died at a local hospital and had underlying medical conditions. His is the seventh confirmed swine-flu death of a Spokane County resident. The Spokane Regional Health District continues to urge vaccination against the disease. However, people over the age of 65 have been excluded from the swine flu, or H1N1 influenza, vaccine priority groups. Researchers believe most older Americans were exposed to a similar H1N1 viral infection in 1947 and thus have some degree of immunity to the current strain.