Health care workers who work directly with patients or infectious material are being targeted for the first batch of public swine flu vaccine in Ohio and Jefferson counties.

Howard Gamble, Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department administrator, said his department received its first shipment Tuesday that consists of 300 injectable doses of the H1N1 vaccine meant to help ward off the virus. A nasal form of the vaccine also is available.

Ohio County's health care worker inoculation clinic is slated 9-11 a.m. and 1-3 p.m. Monday at the health department, located on the first floor of the City-County Building, 1500 Chapline St., Wheeling. No appointment is necessary.

Jefferson County's health care worker inoculation clinic is from 5-8 p.m. Monday and Thursday at Jefferson Community College, 4000 Sunset Blvd, Steubenville, according to a news release from Dr. Frank Petrola, Jefferson County Health Department health commissioner.

''We don't want to sit on the vaccine. We have it, and we want to use it,'' Gamble said.

Both health departments want workers to provide proof of employment. Gamble noted many workers may have already received the vaccine from their employer, or are eligible to receive it at work.

The federally funded vaccine was first distributed to state health officials before arriving at health departments. Additional batches of the vaccine are expected to arrive that will be used to inoculate four other groups currently eligible to receive it. Those groups include: pregnant women; people who live with or care for children 6 months old or younger; people between 6 months old and 24 years old; and people 25-64 years old who have chronic health disorders or compromised immune systems.

''The health department anticipates regular deliveries of the H1N1 vaccine throughout the year and into 2010. The health department does not expect that there will be a shortage of novel H1N1 vaccine, but flu vaccine availability and demand can be unpredictable and there is some possibility that initially, the vaccine will be available in limited quantities,'' according to a news release from Gamble. ''The health department anticipates that anyone who wants a H1N1 vaccination will be able to receive one.''