Teen death may be linked to H1N1

The death of an Amherst High School student may be linked to the H1N1 virus.

The mother of Chelsea Oliver says her daughter put up a strong fight.

Chelsea Oliver was a sophomore at Amherst Central High School. A musician, who was thought of as a young girl who truly cared about her classmates.

"She was just so friendly to everyone and I really noticed that," said Amherst senior Galia Binder.

Galia Binder didn't know Chelsea very well, but she says, she certainly made an impression on her. "When I first met her I was kind intimidated by her because the way she dressed and she looked different, she had her own style, but she always made such an effort to be kind to everyone."

Chelsea's mother Cheryl tells News 4 that her daughter fought till the end, after being hospitalized for about a week with several illnesses including H1N1.

At her high school, grief counselors were on hand for both students and staff and a moment of silence was held in her honor.

Superintendent Laura Chabe says a phone message went out to around 3,000 households Sunday night notifying them of the death of the 15-year-old girl.

Chabe said, "We also wanted to assure families and parents that their kids are safe at school and they should feel comfortable in sending them to school assuming that they're healthy at home as well."

Erie County Health Commissioner Anthony Billittier says the supplies of the H1N1 vaccine are slow to come into New York State, and they're giving it to doctor's offices first.

Billittier said, "In Erie county we've elected that the health care delivery system gets all the vaccine that they can handle because we believe that people should get health care from their doctors."