The Washtenaw County Public Health Department plans to hand out wristbands to eligible residents as part of its plan to avoid long waits and confusion in line at a mass swine flu vaccination clinic in Ypsilanti on Thursday.

The vaccination clinic for the highest priority groups in the county will begin at 10 a.m. at the Eastern Michigan University Convocation Center.

The county also plans to have more volunteers to help at the clinic and has scheduled a second vaccination clinic for Nov. 14. A location and time has not yet been announced for that clinic.

The county's first swine flu vaccine clinic was flooded with local residents.

Tina Reed | AnnArbor.com

The added measures tomorrow are part of the county health department's strategy to get the limited amount of vaccine for the swine flu virus, or the H1N1 flu, to the highest priority residents with limited problems.

“We are looking forward to a smooth, safe and efficient process on Thursday,” Diana Torres-Burgos, the county's public health medical director, said in a release. “We are doing everything possible to reach those most at risk with the H1N1 vaccine we have available."

Wristbands will be handed out at the Convocation Center on Thursday morning to those who are part of the high priority groups. Those wrist bands will correspond with two-hour time slots at the clinic.

Those who get wristbands can choose to wait or return at the appointed time for their vaccine.

Those arriving will not be allowed in the building until about 9 a.m. The vaccines will be given until 7 p.m., or until the last person with a wristband is vaccinated.

Those in the highest priority groups are:

• Pregnant women.
• Children between the ages of 6 months and 4 years.
• Caregivers of children younger than 6 months.
• Children between the ages of 5 and 18 who have medical conditions that put them at higher risk of having serious complications from the flu.
• Health workers who are involved directly in patient care and have some sort of work identification.

The county has said it will have 4,000 doses of vaccine available to the highest priority groups when it holds the clinic Thursday. That's up from 1,000 doses it had at its first vaccine clinic last week.

The county health department decided to retool its plan for distributing doses of the vaccine after that clinic was flooded with concerned parents and their children, and other members of the highest priority groups interesting in receiving the vaccine.

Many stood in line for hours, some were turned away and parking became a problem in that smaller location.

The clinic is available by walk-in only. The county will not have a preservative-free, injectable version of the H1N1 vaccine available.

Last week in Washtenaw County, there were about 70 lab-confirmed cases of the flu. That was up from about 45 the previous week. About 99 percent of the cases of confirmed flu virus are the H1N1 flu virus and not the seasonal flu virus.

There have been 31 hospitalizations of county residents due to the H1N1 flu since Aug 30, 15 of which were last week. There have been no deaths of county residents due to H1N1.

Yesterday, Huron Valley Catholic School in Ypsilanti announced it would close for the week after it experienced a greater than 30 percent absenteeism rate due to flu-like illness at the school.

These statistics, coupled with the prevalence of flu-like illness reported in the schools, show high spread rate of H1N1 within the county, officials say.

Those who have more detailed questions are being asked to contact the county health educators or nurses by calling 734-544-6700.

• In the news today: What's happening with the H1N1 virus

Tina Reed covers health and the environment for AnnArbor.com. You can reach her at tinareed@annarbor.com, call her at 734-623-2535 or find her on Twitter @TreedinAA.