The Allegheny County Health Department yesterday had this advice for residents looking to be vaccinated against swine flu:

Be patient.

The first 90,000 doses of H1N1 vaccine -- in nasal-spray form -- began to arrive Tuesday at doctors' offices and other health care settings statewide. They're intended primarily for 5- to 9-year-olds.

Soon to come are additional doses, including an injectable form of the vaccine, so there's no reason for anybody of any age to worry about going without, county Health Department spokesman Guillermo Cole said.

"We're urging people to be patient," Mr. Cole said. "There will be plenty of vaccine available in the weeks ahead. There's probably going to be more than enough."

In all, state officials have said, they expect to have at least 2.5 million doses available by the end of the month.

Health Department Director Dr. Bruce Dixon and Pittsburgh Public Schools officials discussed H1N1, among other matters, during a luncheon meeting yesterday.

Afterward, Janet Yuhasz, the district's health services coordinator, said the district is open to the possibility of using schools as vaccination sites during coming shipments of the vaccine.

She said it's too soon to say whether the department would want to use the sites for adults as well as children.

Mr. Cole said the department has long-standing arrangements with school districts countywide to use school buildings to distribute antibiotics and vaccines in times of urgent need. But he said there's no indication it will be necessary to activate that system to distribute the H1N1 vaccine.

Rather, he said the regular network of doctors' offices and clinics should be able to handle the job with some "augmentation" from schools that have asked to be involved.

Gateway School District, for example, has asked the state to send vaccines for its students but hasn't received any yet, district spokeswoman Cara Zanella said. She said the vaccine would be administered by outside professionals, not district personnel.

Gateway, Pittsburgh and other districts already have experienced cases of swine flu.

Mr. Cole, noting the ailment's effects are relatively mild in most cases, said there's no reason to panic. Ms. Yuhasz said she's urging people to take common-sense prevention steps -- such as washing their hands frequently and staying home from school when they feel ill.

The Health Department and school districts already have been working closely on a campaign to bring the county's schoolchildren in line with new county vaccination requirements for chicken pox, meningitis, tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough.

Schools last week began barring students who lacked the vaccines, prompting families to flood Health Department clinics.

Mr. Cole yesterday estimated that fewer than 1,000 children countywide remain out of compliance, down from about 30,000 last spring. Patricia Gennari, the Pittsburgh district's assistant superintendent of support services, said about 410 city students remained out of compliance yesterday, down from about 11,500 last spring.

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