Child H1N1 Vaccination Clinics Begin

Additional doses of H1N1 or swine flu vaccine have allowed Champaign-Urbana's Public Health District to start turning its attention toward priority groups.

A clinic to treat the youngest of populations starts Tuesday at the district offices. Administrator Julie Pryde says the goal of vaccinating those six months to five years of age first is protecting those who are in day care or some other home care setting, where they're around many other young kids.

The initial doses last week were used to treat health care workers in the area. Pryde says now that those vaccinations are mostly done, pregnant women can get their shots through primary care physicians. And she says those facilities will also be treating those with infants six months or younger, with the goal of treating older children by next Monday.

"We're hoping to get everybody in the preschool population who wants it this week, assuming our vaccine holds out we'll get those done in the next week. Then, hopefully if we get the vaccine in we'll start in the schools. Everything is dependent on the vaccine that comes in," Pryde said.

The Public Health District has received a total of 14,500 doses of the vaccine. Pryde says that amount came in quicker than anticipated. The district has ordered a total of 100,000 doses.

The walk-in clinics for six months to 5 year-olds will run Tuesday through Friday at the CUPHD offices on West Kenyon Road from 10 to 7. Pryde says the district will likely hold one or two clinics for preschool age kids in rural Champaign County as well this week.

For quicker service, parents are advised to print and sign the consent forms available on the district's web site at c-uphd-dot-org.