WASHINGTON (AP):

President Barack Obama declared the swine flu outbreak a national emergency, giving his health chief the power to let hospitals move emergency rooms off site to speed treatment and protect non-infected patients.

The declaration, signed Friday night and announced yesterday, comes with the disease more prevalent than ever in the US and production delays undercutting the government's initial, optimistic estimates that as many as 120 million doses of the vaccine could be available by mid-October.

Health authorities say more than 1,000 people in the United States, including almost 100 children, have died from the flu, known as H1N1, and 46 states have widespread flu activity. So far, only 11 million vaccine doses have gone out to health departments, doctor's offices and other providers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials.