KATU's continuing coverage on "swine flu" H1N1 vaccine distribution in Oregon and Southwest Washington.

PORTLAND, Ore. - Swine flu hospitalizations and deaths in the Northwest continue to climb. However, the numbers of deaths are still small.

In Oregon there have been 449 hospitalizations and 15 related deaths recorded since Sept. 1. Oregon counties with the most patients in the hospital are Jackson, Lane and Multnomah.

In Washington state, there have been 331 hospitalizations and 12 deaths since mid-September.   

President Barack Obama did declare the swine flu outbreak a national emergency on Saturday. The announcement comes as vaccine production struggles to keep up.

From coast to coast, people are lining up to get vaccinated against H1N1 or swine flu. According to ABC reports, the virus continues to spread - killing more than 1,000 people in 46 states including 95 children. (Watch the attached video for the full ABC report.)

The rush to get vaccinated comes after government officials have announced that - despite promises to the contrary - vaccine manufacturers have yet not to make enough of the flu vaccine to meet demand.

"Vaccination is our strongest tool," said Thomas Frieden, director of the federal Center for Disease Control, "and not having enough of it is extremely frustrating."

Early forecasts predicted there would be 40 million doses available by late-October. So far there are just 16 million. (See "Officials ask those not in a priority group to wait for vaccine.")

Outside the Northwest, a school in the Northern California town of Vacaville shut down after a first grader died and other students began to show flu-like symptoms.  In New York City, a trio of schools closed after a large-scale outbreak there.

Meanwhile, in Southern California, hundreds of people used a drive-thru clinic at Beach Cities Health District in Redondo Beach. The line of cars stretched along several blocks.

With Obama's action this weekend, he said he hopes to slow down the spread of the outbreak and avoid similar stories from occurring around the nation.

Regardless of the vaccine's availability, some opinion polls last week indicated many Americans say they won't inoculate their children based on concerns about whether or not the vaccine is safe.