If you get the shakes just thinking about getting a needle, you may be able to receive the vaccine in nasal mist form but you will need to check first to see whether you can safely take the nasal mist form of the flu vaccine or will have to get a shot. People who can safely get the nasal mist flu vaccine are as follows:

The list of people who can’t receive this shot is longer, so be sure to check. Basically, if you are pregnant, have a compromised immune system or a chronic health problem, you are not eligible for the nasal spray vaccine, as it could cause your condition to worsen. Also very young children and people over 50 should not get the nasal spray. Again, please check the list to get full details.

More shipments of the swine flu vaccine will be arriving in the coming weeks and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (S.C. DHEC) website will be adding new clinic listings as they become available.

There is a flu clinic finder on the South Carolina website where you can learn when and where you can get a seasonal flu vaccine and an H1N1 flu (swine flu) vaccine in your local community. Simply type in the county where you live and the type of clinic you’re looking for, i.e.  for a seasonal flu shot, a swine flu shot or “all” for both types of clinics.

Currently, seasonal flu shots are being offered by doctors, local public health departments, drugstores, and urgent care centers throughout the state.  You should contact your private health care provider to find out if he or she will be providing the vaccine. Local pharmacies that signed up to provide the swine flu vaccine, will advertise when it becomes available.

If you have any questions about the H1N1 vaccine, you can call 1-800-27SHOTS (1-800-2774687.)

For the rest of the population, more vaccine will be available in mid-November at pharmacies, health care provider offices,  schools  and local health departments.

Whether you fall into the category of being a priority or not, the Virginia Department of  Health (VDH) website has a complete list of public vaccination sites, including pharmacies and local health departments.  At the top of this page, you can type in your city and postal code to narrow the search considerably.

There is also a page for  schools that will be hosting vaccination clinics.  If your child’s school is on this list, you are advised to check with the school for vaccination schedules. Phone numbers are listed on the page.

Local health departments and phone numbers are available as well. Simply type in a Health District OR a Location OR a Zip Code OR the City you would like to locate, in the box at the top of the page to bring up results relevant to you and your family.

The VDH  website has a swine flu hotline, as well.  Contact them at 877-ASK-VDH3 (877-275-8343.)

For the seasonal flu, a  link on the Flu.gov web page for Virginia, takes you to the American Lung Association website where you are asked to enter your zip code into the Flu Clinic Locator on the right-hand side of the page. This will give you the date, times, address, and phone number of the clinics offering seasonal flu shots near you, as well as a map showing where the clinic is located. The flu clinic locator is updated daily, so you will always get the most up-to-date  information.

Here’s a list from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of groups who have been prioritized to receive the 2009 H1N1 vaccine first:

• Pregnant women
• People who live with or care for children younger than 6 months of age
• Health care and emergency medical services personnel
• People between the ages of 25 and 64 years old who are at high risk for H1N1 because of chronic health disorders or compromised immune systems

The CDC reports that, of the 27 states reporting hospitalizations from September 1st to October 10th this year, more than half were people age 24 and younger and about 23 percent of deaths reported from 28 states during this time were in this age bracket.

About 90 percent of hospitalizations and deaths from the swine flu are in people age 64 and younger. This is the reverse of what we see with the seasonal flu, where 60 percent of hospitalizations and 90 percent of deaths are in people age 65 and up.

Another group that is at high risk for the swine flu includes people with immune systems compromised by diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. These folks are at risk for complications from both types of flu, that is, seasonal and H1N1, and should get both vaccinations as soon as they become available to them. For more information about inflammatory arthritis and the flu shot, visit the CDC website.

Even healthy pregnant women can have medical complications from both the seasonal and swine flu. It is recommended that you get both of these shots as soon as possible. However, you should not be given the nasal spray flu vaccine.

It seems that the flu poses added risks to pregnant women because pregnancy weakens a woman’s immune system and makes her more likely to suffer pneumonia when she catches the flu. The CDC says that, in earlier flu pandemics, infection also raised the risk of premature birth.

It’s a double dilema for pregnant women with asthma and some other health conditions. These women are particularly at risk for complications. The CDC recommends that pregnant women take prescription flu medicines if they are diagnosed with the swine flu. It is believed that the virus poses a greater risk to the unborn baby than the unknown risks of the drugs Tamiflu and Relenza. These anti-viral drugs can help lessen or avert complications, according to Dr. Anne Schuchat of the CDC.

The website Flu.gov has more information for pregnant and nursing moms.