Amid a rash of absences at Cameron High and Elementary schools, officials in Marshall County are taking preventive measures regarding the swine flu.

The first swine flu inoculations for Marshall County students took place Friday at Cameron Elementary. Hundreds of students with their parents turned out to receive some of the 300 shots the Marshall County Health Department earlier this week. The shots were provided to students at the elementary and high school.

"It's going pretty good right now," Marshall County Emergency Management Agency Director Tom Hart said that morning.

According to Marshall County Health Department Administrator Ronda Francis, there has been an increase in "flu-like" illnesses at the schools recently, prompting health officials to monitor fluctuations in student absences. She estimated more than 100 student absences have been reported between both schools since Monday, adding that some of the absences may be the result of parents keeping students home to avoid illness.

Testing is being done through the West Virginia Office of Laboratory Services to determine if the illnesses are H1N1 virus, aka the swine flu, or an early onset of the seasonal flu. Francis said those results should be back early next week.

Many students and their parents waited for more than an hour for the shots on Friday, making the school busier than it normally is. To help control the crowd and traffic, Cameron police officers and Marshall County sheriff's deputies were on hand.

"It's flowing pretty good," Cameron Police Chief Mike Younger said of the traffic that morning.

Despite the large crowd, Younger said there were no problems. He added that, to free up parking spaces, school employees opted to park in nearby church and business lots.

"All of the school staff parked elsewhere," Younger said. "That really helped.''

The Friday clinic was the first of many planned for Marshall County students in the next few weeks. Francis said the health department will be going to all schools to offer swine flu immunizations as the vaccine becomes available, adding that parents or legal guardians must be present for students to receive flu shots. She said the department is working with the schools to advance infection control measures to limit the spread of disease. Her department staff already had been meeting with school officials regarding the clinics prior to the Cameron illnesses.