Interior Health has announced the dates and times of the first wave of combined H1N1 and seasonal immunization clinics in the South Okanagan.

Details of clinics are being posted one week ahead of time (every Wednesday) because the health authority received a smaller allotment of the H1N1 vaccine than originally expected.

Medical health officer Dr. Paul Hasselback was quick to point out that more allotments are arriving regularly and there will ultimately there will be enough vaccine for everyone who wants it.

“Everyone should rest assured, we will have enough for everyone,” he said.

In Penticton the clinic will be offered at the Penticton, Trade and Convention Centre on Friday, Nov. 6 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

On Thursday a clinic will be held at the Summerland Senior Citizen Drop-In at 9710 Brown St. from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oliver will host a clinic at the Seniors Centre at 34452 95th St. on Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and on Wednesday the combined clinic will be held at the Osoyoos Seniors Centre at 17 Park Place from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 a.m.

Interior Health noted all clinic times and locations will be posted once they are booked and may be subject to change. Information on times, dates and locations can be found at www.interiorhealth.ca.

The flu clinics are contingent on receiving the expected shipment of vaccine and are subject to change on short notice. The vaccinations are free to the public and offered on a first-come, first-serve basis as appointments are not being taken for the clinics.

Those eligible for this first wave of clinics include pregnant women in the second half of pregnancy, persons under the age of 65 with chronic conditions, children six months to under five years of age, household contacts and care providers of infants under six months of age, household contacts and care providers of persons who are immunocompromised, persons residing in rural and remote communities — including the Aboriginal population and health care workers involved in responding to pandemic influenza.

For everyone else who wants the H1N1 vaccine but is not included in the high-risk category, Hasselback said they should wait until clinics held after Nov. 9.

So far, the health authority has received 70,000 doses of the vaccination in two shipments. An additional 90,000 were expected next week but that number now appears that it will be between 50,000 and 60,000 doses, according to Hasselback. The smaller numbers are due to the overwhelming demands on the production lines and affect the entire country, not just this area or province.

Hasselback said while he is not encouraging nurses at clinics or the hundreds of doctors through the Souther Interior who have responded to a call to dispense the vaccination at their offices to “police” who is getting the vaccine during the first week of the clinics, he is asking the population to “work as a society” when it comes to allowing those in greatest need to go first.

Seniors, people with compromised immune systems and those eligible for the seasonal flu shot will also be able to get them at the same time as the H1N1 vaccine.

— with files from the Capital News