Students at local school districts will soon receive the first round of flu shots to help combat the H1N1 virus.

The first round of clinics begin today at schools in Bennett, Byers and Thornton.

The vaccination doses, most of which are nasal mist sprays as opposed to shots, are administered for free by nurses with the Tri-County Health Department, said Gary Sky, spokesman for Tri-County.

The first batch of doses came in Nov. 3 and subsequent shipments are expected to come each week through the season, he said.

Tri-County is hoping to have 2,000 doses available per clinic, Sky said.

Each clinic is expected to have about eight stations with nurses administering vaccinations, he said.

Officials also will be on hand to do head counts in case more than 2,000 people arrive.

Due to vaccine shortages, clinics are limited to residents of Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Douglas and Elbert Counties.

The priority groups currently eligible to receive vaccine include pregnant women, parents/caretakers/siblings for children younger than 6 months, including caregivers in infant rooms; children/adults 6 months through 24 years of age; children from 6 months to 9 years of age, who will receive 2 doses of the vaccine, the second within 3-4 weeks of the first dose; health care personnel with direct patient contact; and people 25 through 64 years of age who have certain medical conditions that put them at higher risk for influenza-related complications.

For a complete list of clinic locations, go to www.tchd.org/flu.htm or by calling 303-220-9200.