By VOA News
06 October 2009

The official Xinhua news agency says the victim, who died Sunday, was an
18-year-old woman from the Tibetan autonomous region. She had been admitted
to a hospital in Lhasa the previous day with coughing, a sore throat and
aches.

China's Health Ministry says it is rushing 200,000 doses of vaccine to the
region in an effort to contain the virus. China has reported more than
21,000 cases of swine flu across the country, with 13 people in serious
condition.

China began mass vaccinations against swine flu last month. The Health
Ministry says it plans to inoculate 65 million people, or about five percent
of China's population, by the end of this year.

The World Health Organization has declared the swine flu outbreak a
pandemic, meaning it is widespread. The agency says more than 4,000 deaths
related to the virus have been reported worldwide, and as many as two
billion people may eventually be infected.