LEWISTON – About 700 children received flu shots over the weekend during the first round of clinics aimed at getting vaccine to people considered to be most at risk. A second round of clinics for children is being tentatively planned for the coming weekend.

Clinics to administer vaccine to people over 65 will follow. If the supply allows, more clinics will be scheduled to inoculate others following a priority protocol established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Both Central Maine Medical Center and St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center conducted the clinics, Saturday at CMMC and Sunday at St. Mary’s. The parents of children 6 to 23 months old or 2 to 18 years old with chronic medical conditions were notified by mail that the kids were in the No. 1 priority group for vaccine.

CMMC and St. Mary’s are cooperating in offering the clinics. They’ve pooled the existing local supply of vaccine and screened medical records to make certain those who most need it get it. Notices to patients who meet the CDC criteria are being handled by the individual medical practices affiliated with each hospital. Practices that aren’t affiliated with either hospital have been invited to take part in the clinic protocol, spokesmen for St. Mary’s and CMMC said.

Russ Donahue, St. Mary’s director of marketing, said Monday afternoon that about 300 children were inoculated at Sunday’s clinic. Chuck Gill, CMMC’s vice president for marketing, said 400 kids received vaccine there on Saturday.

Donahue said the hospitals are sharing a total of about 8,000 doses of vaccine. St. Mary’s alone estimated that 3,000 children met CDC criteria for flu shots. Gill didn’t have a comparable figure, noting a meeting was set for later today to further discuss needs, supply and clinic dates.

Donahue said next weekend’s clinics could be attended by as many as 2,700 children, or any number under that.

“In some instances parents might feel that their children are healthy and don’t need the shot. That’s fine,” said Donahue.

Whatever vaccine that was earmarked for children that isn’t used goes back into the pool to be distributed to remaining high-risk patients, he explained.

“There is such a shortage,” he added, that both hospitals are endeavoring to “do the right thing for the right people.”

Donahue said the clinics are solely for people notified by medical practices to attend them. Invitations might be checked, and doctors are doing priority screening before the vaccine is administered.