Hundreds of people are expected to line up for free H1N1 vaccinations Friday afternoon at Portage High School.

But they'll only get the shot, or the nasal spray vaccination, if they fall into groups that are most at risk for becoming seriously ill with the virus, also known as the swine flu.

Columbia County will have a mass vaccination from 2 to 6 p.m. Friday at Portage High School.

Susan Lorenz, the county's public health officer, said school-based vaccinations were supposed to have started this week in Columbia County. However, due to the nationwide shortage of the H1N1 vaccine, the school-based clinics are on hold until at least the week of Nov. 16, she said.

Therefore, the county's Health and Human Services Department will instead offer its limited supply of vaccine to people who are most at risk from H1N1, such as pregnant women, young children, older children with underlying medical conditions, households with an infant 6 months old or younger and health-care workers.

"We've decided to make this a truly community-based clinic," Lorenz said.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Columbia County had 73 lab-confirmed cases of H1N1 between April 15 and Aug. 29. From Aug. 30 to Oct. 27, the number was 23. But the number of actual H1N1 cases in the county is undoubtedly higher than that, Lorenz said.

Erik Pritzl, director of the Columbia County Health and Human Services Department, told members of the County Board's executive committee Monday that several HHS staff members have volunteered to assist in the free H1N1 immunization clinic.

At the meeting, he gotan additional volunteer: County Board Vice Chairman Robert Westby of Lodi.

"I'll be happy to be there, as an observer and as a volunteer," he said.

"Well, we'll put you to work," Pritzl replied.

Also expected to be on hand at the clinic, he said, is an ambulance and crew from Divine Savior EMS in case of emergency, and representatives of the county's emergency management department. Portage police will offer traffic control.

According to Pritzl, the clinic's operation will be similar to that of a trial mass vaccination clinic that the county conducted at Portage High School in 2006, when about 150 people showed up for seasonal flu vaccinations and clinic planners worked out logistics such as setup and where to station volunteers.

This time, Pritzl said, an estimated 1,500 vaccinations are expected to be administered.

Lorenz said the vaccinations can be administered as shots or as nasal spray. Certain patients, such as children younger than 2 years old or pregnant woman, can receive the vaccination only with a shot.

Clinic attendees need not be Columbia County residents, Lorenz said.

"We're getting calls about the clinic from neighboring counties, and even from counties that are quite far away," she said. "The clinic is open to anybody who falls in the target risk groups."

Vaccinations will be administered on a first-come, first-served basis.

The vaccinations will not include immunizations for seasonal flu.

But, Lorenz said, if people in or around Columbia County are now experiencing flu-like symptoms - such as high fever, cough, sore throat and body aches - they probably have H1N1, because seasonal flu typically doesn't break out in this area until January.

After the initial outbreak this spring, only a small percentage of people who came to health-care providers with symptoms - such as children or others in high-risk groups - had their diagnoses confirmed with a lab test. The rest were sent home and instructed to stay there until they were fever-free (without aid of medication) for 24 hours.

Executive Committee member Timothy O'Neil of Columbus, who is a physician, said clinics throughout the area are seeing numerous patients exhibiting H1N1 symptoms.

With H1N1, O'Neil said, younger patients are more vulnerable than older people to complications or other adverse outcomes with H1N1, whereas the seasonal flu tends to be a greater risk for the aged population.

Lorenz said the H1N1 outbreak might continue when seasonal flu starts in the winter. But the precautions for both seasonal and H1N1 flu are the same, she said. They include:

• Frequently washing or disinfecting hands.

• Covering the mouth (preferably with an elbow or sleeve, and not a hand) when coughing.

• Staying home until symptoms subside.

"H1N1 is here to stay," Lorenz said.

Are you qualified?

What: Mass H1N1 vaccination for people in high-risk groups.

When: 2 to 6 p.m. Friday.

Where: Portage High School, 301 E. Collins St.

Who will qualify: H1N1 vaccinations will be given only to people who meet one or more of the following criteria:

• Children age 6 months to 4 years.

• Older children, 5 to 18, who have a chronic medical condition that put them at higher risk for influenza-related complications, such as the following conditions: pulmonary (including asthma), metabolic (including diabetes), renal, hepatic, cognitive, neurologic/neuromuscular, cardiovascular (except hypertension), immunosuppression caused by medications or long-term aspirin therapy.

• Pregnant women.

• Health-care workers who work in acute-care hospitals, nursing homes, skilled nursing facilities, physicians' offices, urgent care centers, outpatient clinics, licensed home health care agencies, emergency medical services or any venue where they might have contact with patients or infectious material.

• People who live with or provide care for infants 6 months old or younger, such as parents, siblings and day-care providers.

Cost: Free.

Forms needed: Parents are asked to bring their children's immunization records. Consent forms for parents and guardians of minor children, and information about the H1N1 vaccines, will be available on the site and also can be downloaded from the Columbia County Web site, www.co.columbia.wi.us.

Where to go, where to park: Clinic attendees should go to and from Portage High School along Collins Road. School will be dismissed in the afternoon, so people going to the clinic are asked to wait to arrive until about 1:30 p.m., to give school cars and buses a chance to exit the parking areas. Park in the lot between John Muir School and the high school. Enter at the main entrance, which is Door No. 1.

More information: Flu vaccination hotline, 742-9735.

ljerde@capitalnewspapers.com

745-3587