Luis Carraneo brought daughter Isabella, 2 1/2, to Clover Park High School at 2 a.m. Saturday.

The Spanaway man wanted to be at the head of the line to ensure his child got vaccinated against the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu.

“My daughter’s life is very important to me,” he said as he waited outside the gymnasium for a county-run flu prevention clinic that opened its doors shortly before 9 a.m.

Hundreds of people showed up and stood in the drenching rain as they made their way through the line into the gym.

But by the end of the day everyone who met the clinic criteria – ages 2 to 24 and pregnant women – received the free vaccine, Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department spokeswoman Eileen Finnegan said.

In fact, stocks were still available. A cadre of some 70 volunteers came ready to administer 2,300 doses of flu mist and 460 injections. By day’s end, about 1,300 doses were dispensed, Finnegan said.

“We did have to turn some people away” who weren’t in the target group, she added.

The clinic Saturday was the second conducted by the health department at an area high school in recent weeks.

But it was the last such clinic scheduled for now; supplies of the vaccine are extremely scarce.

Beginning Monday, only pregnant women and health care workers who have close patient contact will have the highest priority for getting vaccinated in Pierce County.

The restriction is temporary until more stocks of vaccine arrive or until all in those priority groups have received the medicine, Finnegan said.

There is much confusion and many nuances about vaccine distribution priorities and policy, she added. The health department will issue a detailed press release on Monday, she said.

The H1N1 virus has killed seven people in Pierce County since May 1, according to reports made to the health department. Hospitals in the county logged 104 confirmed cases from May 1 through 11 a.m. Friday, Finnegan said.

There’s no accurate way to know how many area residents have contracted the flu, whose hallmarks include high fever, nasty cough and a panoply of aches, fatigue and other symptoms.

Many people get sick, stay home and never need a doctor’s treatment for the virus, Finnegan said. Most people feel better within a week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Pierce County health officers do know, though, that 10 schools across the county reported absentee rates of 10 percent or more on Friday.

On one day about two weeks ago, 37 schools in the county reported absenteeism of 10 percent or greater.

Again, that only tells health workers kids are sick; not why they’re sick.

To date, only about 75,700 doses of H1N1 vaccine have reached Pierce County, which has around 800,000 residents.

The health department got about 17,200 doses, which went to the two public clinics it held and to smaller health care providers, Finnegan said.

The remaining stocks were shipped directly to health care providers, pharmacies and hospitals, which are bound to follow federal and local guidelines on who should get the vaccine.

Priorities to date included those deemed to be most at risk: pregnant women, children and young adults 6 months to 24 years; adults from 25-64 with underlying health problems; and people who live with or care for infants under 6 months old. Health care and emergency services workers also were on the priority list.

Kris Sherman: 253-597-8659

kris.sherman@thenewstribune.com

More about swine flu

 • Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department: www.tpchd.org; 253-798-7000

 • Seattle & King County Public Health: www.kingcounty.gov/health/h1n1; 877-903-5464

 • Thurston County Health Department: www.co.thurston.wa.us/health; 360-709-3080

 • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: www.cdc.gov