One third of Suffolk’s public schools have held vaccination clinics for the H1N1 virus since October, and the rest are expected to do so within the next month.

Two million Virginia residents have received the H1N1 vaccine. And while the push is still being made to get the vaccines out to the public, just over a quarter of Virginia children have received the vaccination.

Since the release of the H1N1 — or swine flu — vaccine to high-priority groups on Oct. 5, 2,359 students and 356 staff in the Suffolk public school system have already received the vaccine, while 4,757 students and 616 staff are registered to be vaccinated by mid-January.

The first Suffolk school to receive the vaccine was Booker T. Washington Elementary on October 27. Since then, seven more elementary schools have held free clinics for children whose parents signed them up on October 12. The remaining 14 schools have clinics scheduled between Dec. 11 and Jan. 12. Parents will receive notice at least a day in advance.

“The clinics are for students at the school who have already turned in their permission slip in October, because, [due to limited quantities], the Health Department only shipped that exact amount,” Suffolk Public Schools spokeswoman Bethanne Bradshaw said Thursday.

Bradshaw said the system had expected the shipments to arrive earlier, because “the health department thought things were going to go more quickly,” but there were problems producing the slow-growing vaccine.

Since it has taken longer than expected to receive the vaccine, some children already may have been vaccinated elsewhere. It is important that parents of those children contact the schools if their children were signed up for the H1N1 vaccination.

“While it’s not harmful for the child to get a second shot, it means a child who needs one may not get one,” Bradshaw said.

Because of the limited number of vaccines per school, “We’re not able to offer free shots to parents—although some [schools] are. Parents can come and hold their child’s hand though,” Bradshaw said. “They would need to call the health department or their personal physician to see what’s available.”

H1N1 vaccines are available at local Farm Fresh, Rite Aid, and Walgreens stores and the Western Tidewater Free Clinic, according to the Virginia Department of Health’s website. The Suffolk Health Department also has H1N1 and season flu vaccinations.

“We want to encourage parents to do their part to keep the school healthy… It’s so contagious, and with young children it’s so easy for it to spread,” Bradshaw said.

In a related development, the Virginia Department of Health announced on Thursday that it is recommending that doctor’s offices, health departments and others expand their vaccination campaign beyond the high-risk community of children and teenagers and into the lower-risk category of young adults, 19-24 years old.

“[W]e can now reach out to more Virginians, especially young adults,” Virginia Health Commission Dr. Karen Remley stated. “Young adults, whether they are working one of their first jobs, in college studying, or home caring for a young family, should all be protected against this influenza strain.”

Though the swine flu pandemic has calmed down in recent months, the virus is unpredictable, and the seasonal flu’s peak season is just around the corner, in January and February.