A few thousand people lined up Saturday morning outside Emerald Ridge High School in Puyallup to get one of 2,500 free swine flu vaccines distributed by the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.

Several families arrived at the high school at 5 a.m., four hours before the clinic doors opened, to ensure their children got a dose of the vaccine. By the time the clinic opened at 9 a.m., the line of people waiting stretched around the high school campus and onto the steps of adjacent Glacier View Junior High.

“We didn’t care how long we had to stand in line,” said South Hill resident Gloria Aitken, whose three children were the first in line. “We just wanted to make sure they got the vaccine.”

The free clinic was administering 2,000 H1N1 nasal vaccines and 500 by injection Saturday. By the end of the day, health department workers had administered all of the available nasal vaccines and all but roughly 25 of the injections.

The clinic targeted people ages 2 to 24 living within the Puyallup School District, though pregnant women and some others also received vaccinations. The health department plans to hold five more vaccine clinics at area schools between now and mid-December.

John Britt, spokesman for the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, said that although health department workers had worried they would run out of vaccine early, they had just enough doses to last until the clinic’s scheduled closing time of 4 p.m. No one was turned away, he said.

Britt attributed the large number of people lining up for the vaccine early Saturday to fear there wouldn’t be enough to go around. By 1:30 p.m., the line was gone and people could walk in and get vaccinated immediately, he said.

“I think it’s partly being fueled by the unknown factors involved with a new virus,” Britt said, “And it’s also being fueled by the sense of scarcity.”

Nationwide, production delays have limited the amount of swine flu vaccine available.

As of Saturday, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department had received 4,100 doses of the H1N1 flu vaccine, including the 2,500 used Saturday at Emerald Ridge.

An additional 32,000 doses have arrived so far in Pierce County to be distributed to health care providers and pharmacies, Britt said.

Still, the total number of doses in the county – 36,000 – is only a fraction of the 550,000 Pierce County is supposed to receive before the flu season ends.

More vaccine will come in each week, Britt said, which should eventually create a supply large enough to meet the local demand. The health department expects to get a new shipment Monday or Tuesday.

“We believe in the next few weeks there will be enough vaccine that people won’t be queuing up like this,” Britt said.

In general, pregnant women and people with health complications will receive the vaccine by injection, while others under the age of 50 will get the nasal mist.

Several people in line Saturday said they initially weren’t convinced that they should get their children vaccinated against H1N1, but decided it was a good idea after hearing about the increase in local swine flu cases.

As of Wednesday, the total number of Pierce County residents hospitalized since April because of swine flu was 41. In addition, another H1N1-related death was reported in the county Friday, raising the number of Pierce County deaths since April to six people.

“You go back and forth, because the vaccine’s so new,” said Leah English, who has three children in Puyallup schools and a 3-year-old in day care. “But later on if they get sick, I don’t want to think I could have done something to prevent it.”

English and her family were among those who arrived hours early to line up for the vaccine. Some wrapped themselves in blankets to ward off the morning cold.

Others decided to come a few hours after the clinic opened to avoid the opening crowd.

“I wasn’t going to come and camp out,” said South Hill resident Liz Jones, who has two daughters attending Glacier View Junior High and another daughter in home school. “I was thinking that two hours in, the line might die down a bit.”

The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department plans to hold five more H1N1 vaccination clinics at local high schools between now and mid-December. The dates for the other clinics aren’t certain yet, but the next is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 1 at Bethel High School in Spanaway.

Britt encouraged people seeking a swine flu vaccination to ask their health care provider first. They might be pleasantly surprised, he said.

“A lot of people have a little bit of vaccine,” Britt said. “It’s just no one wants to poke their head up and say, ‘Send everyone my way.’”

Melissa Santos: 253-552-7058

melissa.santos@thenewstribune.com