It comes as some area hospitals see record numbers of patients with flu-like symptoms.

It might not be rush hour at the emergency room at Swedish American hospital. But flu patients are still rushing in.

"There was one day we isolated more than a 100 people with flu or flu- like symptoms, that's a staggering number," said Dr. Michael Polka, Associate Director of Emergency Services for Swedish American.

A staggering number that was part of a record patient load at this ER last week. The numbers aren't ringing in as high this week. But seats in the waiting room are still filling up.

"We really just put a mask on you and then put you in a separate area of the hospital where we can treat you," Dr. Polka said.

Dr. Polka says there's been at least five confirmed H1N1 cases from his emergency room. He says the best precaution is the vaccine.

"It is safe. People are not dying from the vaccine, they're dying from the virus," Dr. Polka said.

"This is the H1N1 flu mist style of the vaccine."

Stephenson County just received several thousand H1N1 vaccines. Both the nasal spray and the injection.

"We've had hundreds of calls of when and how to get this," said Craig Beintema, Director of the Stephenson County Health Department.

The county will start distributing the vaccine on Thursday and Friday at three local schools. Beintema says they're targeting kids first since flu hospital stays for that group are rising.

"We heard yesterday from a conference call with the state that is has doubled," Beintema said.

A double load that Stephenson County hopes to lessen with its "stock" now in house.

Beintema says the two clinics this week will operate on a first-come-first-serve basis. He says the nasal spray makes up about 75 percent of the vaccines on hand right now. And the rest are the injections.

Beintema says the health department expects to go through all the vaccines at the upcoming clinics. But it plans to get another shipment of vaccines in soon enough to have more clinics next week, and start reaching out to other parts of the county.

The clinics will be at Freeport High School, Lincoln-Douglas Elementary School and Taylor Park Elementary School.

Hours are Thursday from 11 am to 6 pm and Friday from 8 am to 1 pm.