LEWISTON — H1N1 vaccine clinics for Lewiston schools originally scheduled to start Monday have been rescheduled for Wednesday, Lewiston school nurse Cathy Liguori said Friday.

In Auburn, the vaccines will begin Nov. 1.

Two Lewiston schools that were to have the vaccine clinics Monday and Tuesday, Farwell and Longley, will now receive the vaccines Nov. 5 and 6. The first clinic will be held Wednesday at Montello Elementary.

“We don’t have the vaccine. We were delayed. They are not here,” Liguori said Friday.

But Dr. Dora Ann Mills, head of the Maine Centers for Disease Control, said there is H1N1 vaccine for Lewiston schools. “We have vaccines for them.”

Lewiston was a priority school district to receive the vaccines first and get the clinics started during the week of Oct. 26, Mills said Friday.

There is a national shortage of the H1N1, or swine flu, vaccine. Because the disease is hitting the young the hardest, schools are a priority. Maine’s largest schools in the southern part of the state, a more populated area, top the list, Mills said.

“We wanted to makes sure we got the vaccine clinics up and running in our biggest cities.” Mills said. She said she didn’t know Friday why the vaccines were not in Lewiston. “We definitely will look into why this happened. We will be discussing this first thing Monday.”

Meanwhile, Liguori said she’s received many requests from parents who want their children to have a shot in the arm instead of a nasal spray. Since the bulk of the vaccines are nasal sprays, “We will not be able to honor all the parents’ request for injectable vaccines for children who are healthy.” Shots will be reserved for students who have an underlying health problem.

Parents became afraid when they read that the nasal spray contains a live virus, and the shot does not, Liguori said. But many vaccines, including measles, mumps, rubella and chicken pox, all contain a live virus. “It’s just as safe as the injectable,” Liguori said. “Children get them all the time.”

Mills agreed, saying it should be up to health professionals in schools to decide which students get which vaccine. “Most kids are thrilled not to get a shot,” Mills said. She said the nasal vaccines “are very safe,” and live viruses in vaccines “are very well tolerated.” Her children are getting the nasal sprays, she said.

Mills said she understands how fear and rumors spread. “My son, who’s a fifth-grader, said they’re getting shots in the nose,” she said with a chuckle.

Liguori said there is a good demand for the vaccines and estimates about 40 percent of Lewiston students will receive the free vaccines in school. The vaccines take nine or 10 days to build an immunity.

Auburn vaccines begin Nov. 1

In Auburn, H1N1 clinics will be held during the school day for all students in November, Assistant Superintendent Katy Grondin said Friday. High school students will start receiving the vaccine Nov. 1, elementary students during the weeks of Nov. 9 and 16.

Consent forms went home to elementary students on Friday, and consent forms for high school students will go home Monday.

The forms are to be returned by Friday, Oct. 30, so officials know how much vaccine is needed.

H1N1 vaccines will be at no cost to families. Like Lewiston, Auburn will use licensed nurses who have volunteered to help administer the vaccines.

Auburn parents will be notified as to when their child will be vaccinated so that parents who want to be present can make arrangements to do so, Grondin said.

Revised H1N1 vaccine clinics in Lewiston schools:
Oct. 28  — Montello Elementary
Oct. 29 — Raymond A. Geiger Elementary
Oct. 30 — Thomas J. McMahon Elementary
Nov. 2 — Lewiston High
Nov. 3 — Lewiston Middle
Nov. 4 — Louis J. Martel Elementary
Nov. 5 — Farwell Elementary
Nov. 6 — Longley Elementary