Metro Birmingham, Ala. - Turnout was relatively light, and lines were rather short as public health departments hosted swine flu vaccination clinics throughout Alabama Wednesday.

A clinic in Shelby County administered less than a fourth of its vaccine supply.  A clinic in Birmingham also had supplies left.  Both sites were going ahead with plans to keep the vaccination centers open on Thursday.

"I was somewhat concerned with the preservative in the vaccine," said Jill Denny, the mother of an infant son.  "But, in my opinion, the risks are worth it becacuse I wouldn't want to chance my son getting the swine flu."

"When I found out that the clinic was this morning, I got up, I rushed to pick him up from school and drove as fast as I could because I thought that there would be just lines out the door," Karly Field said.  "I'm very surprised that there's not more people here."

"I figured this place would be crowded, but a friend of mine called me about 45 minutes ago and said no one was here," said Shelley Gentle, who got the vaccine at the Jefferson County Department of Public Health's main office in downtown Birmingham.  "I came on down and was getting my shot barely before I could finish filling my form out."

For now, the vaccine is still limited to groups such as pregnant women, parents of small children, health care workers, and others who are most vulnerable to swine flu.  However, State Health Officer Dr. Donald Williamson said after a few days of clinics, health officials will re-evaluate the demand for the vaccine and could consider allowing more members of the general public to receive the vaccine.

Williamson said the small crowds could be transformed into longer lines as the clinics continue and word of the vaccine's availability spreads.

"As more and more people have understood about the vaccination efforts beginning today, we'll have a lot of places with even larger crowds tomorrow," Williamson said.  "But right now, I'm cautiously optimistic that our (Alabama's) 55,000 doses are going to at least get us into tomorrow around the state and perhaps, in some places, even into Friday."

Karen Bush, an immunization manager from the Alabama Department of Public Health, was keeping watch on Shelby County's public clinic at the Sports Blast practice center along U.S. Highway 280 near Chelsea.

"We have 2,250 doses," she said in the clinic's opening hours.  "Two hundred and fifty of those doses are pre-filled syringes for our pregnant population only."

By the end of the clinic's hours Wednesday, more than 1,700 doses remained overall.

Bush also addressed general concerns that the vaccine has too many unknowns and was approved and manufactured too quickly.  Health officials understand many people will choose not to have the vaccine.  Still, they encouraged the shots as a way to protect people in the near future or possibly during any future waves of the virus.

"It's manufactured the very same way that the seasonal flu is made, which they've done for years," Bush said.  "And there's no been, so far, no unexpected side effects or contra-indications."

Certainly the children getting injected were unhappy with the briefly painful process.  One cried loudly when the needle pierced the skin but then quickly said "thank you" to the nurse who gave her the vaccine.  Another child was consoled by a lollipop.

But others said they felt practically nothing.

"Painless.  Simple.  Easy," Karly Field said.  "Lots easier than labor."

If you are interested in the vaccine and want more information on clinics in your area, click this link: http://dph.state.al.us/publiccal/h1n1.aspx

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