Lake County schedules five H1N1 clinics

More than 10,000 doses of H1N1 flu vaccine will be available at five Lake County Health Department clinics this month, officials said Wednesday.

Unlike the health department's initial group of flu clinics, residents must make appointments to get the vaccine at these new locations.

Most of the clinics are one-day events. One will run for several weeks.

The free clinics will be held at:

•The Advocate Condell Medical Building, 1425 Hunt Club Road, Suite 103, Gurnee. The clinic will open Friday, Dec. 11 and run through January, if not longer. It will be open Mondays through Fridays from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m., and on weekends from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

•Vernon Hills High School, 145 Lakeview Parkway. The clinic will be in the cafeteria Monday, Dec. 14 from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m.

• Zion-Benton Township High School, 3901 W. 21st St., Zion. The clinic will be open Monday, Dec. 14 from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m.

• Lakes Community High School, 1600 Eagle Way, Lake Villa. The clinic will be open in the alternate gym Tuesday, Dec. 15 from 4 to 8 p.m.

•Wauconda High School, 555 N. Main St. The clinic will be open Tuesday, Dec. 22 from noon to 4 p.m.

The Gurnee clinic will have 6,600 doses for December and more for January, depending on the demand, health department spokesman Leslie Piotrowski said. One thousand doses will be available at each of the other four sites, she said.

The health department's clinics have administered about 12,500 doses at six clinics so far. The vaccine also was provided at a one-day public clinic at Barrington High School last month and to patients at the county's community health centers, officials said.

As was the case with the county's previous clinics, these efforts are focused on treating people in high-risk groups. Those people include:

•Anyone between 6 months old and 24 years old.

•People who care for children younger than 6 months.

•Pregnant women.

•Health care and emergency medical services employees.

•People between the ages of 25 and 64 who have certain medical conditions, such as asthma or diabetes, that put them at high risk for flu-related complications.

"Now that supplies of the vaccine are increasing, this is an ideal time for people in priority groups to get their shots," health department Executive Director Irene Pierce said in a news release.

For children 9 or younger who already received one dose of the H1N1 vaccine, second doses will be available at these clinics, officials said.

To make an appointment, call (888) 523-5727. The line is open all day and night.

The vendor will begin accepting appointments at 8 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 7. Do not contact the sites directly.

The health department's H1N1 hotline number is (847) 377-8350.