Enough swine-flu vaccine is available in Rhode Island to vaccinate every pregnant woman who wants it, said Health Director David R. Gifford.

The state has distributed 10,000 doses to obstetricians and birthing hospitals, but is still getting calls from pregnant women who are having trouble getting a shot, Gifford said.

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“There’s plenty of vaccine out there for them,” he said.

Women whose obstetricians have run out of vaccine should call (401) 222-8022 to arrange to get vaccine to their doctor, Gifford said.

Additionally, three vaccination clinics will be held Saturday morning for pregnant and postpartum women:

•Providence, 9 a.m. to noon, 100 Dudley St. (across from the main entrance to Women & Infants Hospital), Level 0, Suite 0020.

•Woonsocket, 9 a.m. to noon, Women & Infants Medical Office Building, 2168 Diamond Hill Rd.

•Wakefield, 9 to 11 a.m., Potter Conference Center, South County Hospital (call (401) 788-1647 to register).

For more information about the Providence and Woonsocket clinics, call (800) 921-9299, or go to www.womenandinfants.org. Women who are pregnant or within eight weeks of delivering a baby or losing a pregnancy are eligible for shots.

For more information about the Wakefield clinic, go to www.schospital.com, or call (401) 788-1647.

Flu vaccine is recommended for pregnant and postpartum women because changes in their immune systems make them more vulnerable to infection. The vaccine induces antibodies to protect the mother and will also protect the baby for two weeks after birth. Breastfeeding mothers also pass their antibodies to the baby, another reason for women to get vaccinated after delivery.

In a news briefing Tuesday, Gifford provided these updates:

•Two more adults have recently died from swine flu, bringing to five the total number of swine-flu deaths in Rhode Island since Sept. 1. The five include three deaths already reported: two 12-year-old girls and a 49-year-old woman. In addition, Carol-Hall Walker, Health Department spokeswoman, said that a 41-year-old Providence man died on Nov. 5, but she did not have information on the fifth death.

•Next week’s school-based vaccination clinics will be held as scheduled, as the state “definitely” has enough vaccine.

•The first week of school vaccinations went “smoothly,” with 77 percent of students getting the vaccine.

•The state will hold a swine-flu vaccine clinic for children who live in Rhode Island but attend private schools out of state. Details will be available later this week, but the clinic will most likely be on a Saturday at the end of November or the beginning of December.

•By mid-December, all children ages six months through 12th grade will at least have had the opportunity to get vaccinated against swine flu.

•About 1,500 doses of nasal-spray vaccine will be made available this week for pediatricians and their staff to protect themselves from swine flu.

•Swine flu, or H1N1, continues to be widespread in Rhode Island, particularly among children. Even so, school absenteeism is down slightly from last week, with some 80 schools reporting higher-than-normal absenteeism.

•The majority of swine-flu cases have involved mild illnesses lasting a few days.

•Some 5,000 doses of seasonal-flu vaccine will be distributed this week to primary-care physicians for their elderly and high-risk patients.

ffreyer@projo.com