An Allen County woman's death from H1N1 this week is the first in the county.

Laboratory tests confirmed Friday that the middle-aged woman died of the flu virus, according to a news release from the Allen County Health Department.

Health Department spokesman John Silcox did not have any more information about the woman and did not know if she had existing health conditions.

“It's certainly unfortunate. A death is a significant loss with a family and a community,” he said.

This is the 12th confirmed H1N1 death in Indiana since June and the first in Allen County.

With the rapid spread of H1N1 in the area, health officials have largely been targeting children, young adults and pregnant women, but not middle-aged people. Silcox said that was a standard set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

He said even though the vaccine has not yet been made available on a large scale, everyone needs to take precautions against the virus.

“We want people to be aware that the flu is a serious illness,” he said. “(A death is) certainly unfortunate, and we would encourage everyone to take all precautions to prevent the spread of the flu.”

The health department will again offer the H1N1 vaccine Monday and Tuesday at Carew Medical Park to pregnant women, caregivers of children under age 6 months, and those 6 months through 18 years. The seasonal flu vaccine is no longer available.

More than 9,200 people have been vaccinated for H1N1 flu since the clinic opened Oct. 9. The vaccine is free, according to a release.