Umatilla County, get ready to roll up your sleeves.

In November and December, county public health workers will hold mass vaccination clinics in Hermiston, Milton-Freewater and Pendleton.

Initial shipments of the H1N1 flu vaccine have arrived in the county already, but only in limited quantities and mostly in the nasal form. Later shipments will bring enough vaccine to inject thousands of county residents during the three clinics.

Mass vaccinations are scheduled in the following locations:

? Hermiston – Nov. 21, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Hermiston High School Commons.

? Milton-Freewater – Dec. 1, 2-8 p.m., Community Room.

? Pendleton – Dec. 19, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Pendleton High School Commons.

Those unable to attend any of these clinics may go to Pendleton’s public health office, 200 S.E. Third St., from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on either Dec. 28 or Dec. 29.

Umatilla County health officials are urging residents to be patient and to understand the H1N1 flu vaccine should first be given to those if the highest risk:

? People 6 months old through 24 years old,

? Pregnant women,

? Household contacts of those younger than 6 months old,

? Health care and emergency service professionals

? People 25 to 64 years old with chronic health disorders.

Genni Lehnert, health department administrator, said health workers won’t require proof you are in a certain risk group.

“We will not require any documentation at the mass vaccination clinics – we will take people at their word,” Lehnert said. “What’s important is that we vaccinate as many people in the priority risk groups as possible.”

Lehnert expects the process to take 10-15 minutes. She’s not pulling the numbers out of air – the county conducted a mass vaccination exercise in 2007 after inviting the entire county to stop by for free flu shots. About 5,000 folks visited one of three back-to-back clinics.

Health workers will follow up this year’s clinics by going into the schools to administer a second flu shot to children from ages five to nine. At the clinic, parents may sign consent forms to approve their children’s second vaccinations.

People older than 9 years old and younger than six months require only one shot.

The clinics will require a lot of manpower to run – about 100 people in Hermiston and Pendleton and about 60 in Milton-Freewater. Some workers will come from the health department and other community partners, but Lehnert urged anyone interested in volunteering to call the health department to help with such jobs as crowd control and helping people fill out forms.

Obviously, health officials aren’t taking flu lightly.

“This is a big deal nationally,” Lehnert said. “It’s important we respond effectively and efficiently.”

Sherena Clements, emergency preparedness coordinator for the health department, echoed her boss.

“This is clearly the most ambitious influenza vaccination program ever mounted in the United States or anywhere in the world,” she said. “We must consider all planning aspects to best protect Umatilla County residents.”