Doses of the H1N1 vaccine are now being distributed to anyone up to age 64 who has chronic medical conditions.

Until now, Teton County health officials had funneled the vaccine to a much smaller target group.

This week, the county health department received a shipment of about 900 doses of the H1N1 vaccine, a sharp uptick from the number in previous shipments, which have hovered in the low hundreds, said Terri Gregory, county health department manager.

Gregory said the higher-than-expected shipment prompted local health officials to begin offering the vaccine to additional groups.

“We’re still trying to finish up with pregnant women and households and caregivers for children under 6 months, but we had a bigger shipment this week and those other populations are doing better,” Gregory said.

Aside from the county health department’s offices, Gregory said Emerg-A-Care and Urgent Care are the best options for members of the newly added group to get vaccinated.

Shipments of the H1N1 vaccine started to filter in to the county health department in early October in small quantities that prevented health officials from offering doses to the entire public.

The initial groups allowed to get the vaccine were pregnant women, children between the ages of 6 months and 4 years, anyone who lives with or cares for a child younger than 6 months, children between 5 years old and 18 years old with chronic health issues and emergency medical workers who would likely come into contact with H1N1.

Individuals who fall into those categories are still eligible to receive the vaccine, but anyone between the ages of 5 and 64 who have chronic medical problems — such as diabetes, asthma and cardiac or respiratory problems — now are also eligible to receive the vaccine.

Despite the steady demand for the vaccine, both local and state health officials said they think flu activity has started to slow.

“It seems to have stabilized pretty well,” Gregory said of flu activity in the valley. “It’s hard to really tell from the numbers, but it seems like it’s slowing down a little.”

However, Gregory said the flu season traditionally peaks around November or December.

Between Oct. 11 and Saturday, seven people were admitted to St. John’s Medical Center for “influenza-like” illnesses, according to statistics the hospital provided.

In that same period, 53 people visited the hospital’s emergency department complaining of flu-like symptoms.

Across Wyoming, there have been 663 confirmed cases of H1N1 since late May, a majority of which were reported for residents between the ages of 5 and 18, according to statistics from the state department of health.

“Due to the H1N1 flu, Wyoming continues to experience widespread flu activity at levels higher than we’ve seen over at least the last 10 typical winter flu seasons,” Dr. Tracy Murphy, state epidemiologist with the Wyoming Department of Health, said in a statement Monday. “However, the reports from the last two weeks have indicated the growth in activity has started to slow.”

The county still has doses of the pediatric seasonal flu vaccine available, but Gregory said she has not heard when the department might receive additional doses of the adult version of the seasonal flu vaccine.

Doses of H1N1 vaccine are being delivered to the county health department on a weekly basis.

In the meantime, the mantra that people wash their hands, cover their coughs and sneezes, and stay home if they’re feeling sick still applies, Gregory said.