Students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison expecting to get vaccinated against the H1N1 virus on Tuesday will have to wait a while longer.

University Health Services (UHS) postponed the free large-scale H1N1 vaccination clinic it had originally scheduled for Tuesday on campus because there's no vaccine available to do a large-scale clinic.

UW-Madison joins a long list of schools, communities, clinics and businesses waiting for more doses of the H1N1 vaccine to be shipped by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

As of Tuesday, 407,000 doses had been allocated to the state by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with about 300,000 doses already shipped in both the nasal and injectable forms.

Most of the vaccine already here has been administered, mainly to health care workers and targeted individuals.

Those target groups include pregnant women, daycare providers, health care and EMS personnel who make direct contact with patients, children 4 years old or younger and children with chronic medical conditions.

UHS Executive Director Dr. Sarah Van Orman said the H1N1 vaccination clinic will be rescheduled to a time when sufficient vaccine is received.

"We recognize this delay is frustrating to students, but we still expect to receive plenty of vaccine," Van Orman said Wednesday. "it will just take a little longer than we had hoped."

UHS does have some H1N1 vaccine, received about two weeks ago, which is available to students in the target groups.

Students can get free seasonal flu shots at the clinic, on the sixth floor of 333 East Campus Mall, between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. during the week and at evening clinics in several residence halls. No appointment is needed.

The dorm clinics are from 4-7 p.m. today (Thursday, Oct. 29) at Chadbourne Hall, Nov. 3 at Ogg Hall, Nov. 5 at Liz Waters Hall, Nov. 10 at Sellery Hall, Nov. 12 and 19 at Holt Commons and Nov. 17 at Witte Hall.

Van Orman said seasonal flu is still expected to hit this fall and winter, so it's not a bad idea to get a seasonal flu shot now and the H1N1 shot when it's available.

"In any typical flu season, more than one strain of flu is circulating, and we expect that will be the case this year," she said.

"Just because H1N1 is getting a lot of attention, that's no reason not to get a seasonal flu shot," Van Orman said. "Those other types of flu could make you sick and ruin your exam week or your holidays just as well."

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