Cambria County Emergency Management workers were at Pitt-Johnstown Wednesday offering a free, H1N1 flu vaccination.

The vaccine was an inactive dose, injected hypodermically, as opposed to a live nasal dose.

Emergency Management workers Ron Springer and Robbin Melnyk have been coordinating with school district and university administrators to provide vaccinations.

Springer said he read reports of excess H1N1 vaccination doses, but he said these are nasal doses and nobody wants them.

A Sodexo employee sat down to fill out paperwork before receiving the vaccine. She said she had been waiting for the injected vaccine because she has diabetes and the live nasal dose could be dangerous.

Springer said those who received the nasal dose were likely to feel ill and could potentially spread the virus after the nasal dose. Receiving the vaccine with a weak heart, diabetes, or living with someone who has these conditions could be fatal.

“This is the stuff we’ve been waiting for,” Springer said of the inactive virus.

The county’s Emergency Management Agency is a subdivision of Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, which is under the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Springer said they received the vaccine from McKesson Pharmaceuticals, of Nashville, as part of the federal government’s operation to distribute the vaccine.

Springer said he did not know the vaccine’s cost per dose, and a McKesson Pharmaceuticals representative did not return a call to answer questions. However, pharmacies like Rite-Aid and Walgreen’s advertise H1N1 flu shots for around $20.

Springer said they had received the inactive vaccine during most schools’ holiday recess. He said they had already visited Mount Aloysius and St. Francis universities and, by setting up clinics at public schools, they had administered around 7,000 vaccinations to students.

“We still have 5,500 doses that we got over the break,” Springer said.

Springer said he and Melnyk would stay on the road, setting up free clinics as long as supply holds out.

“By the time we’re done, about 15,000 in Cambria County (will have received the vaccine),” he said.

According to 2008 Census Bureau information, about 144,000 people live in the county.

The Health Services office was closed during the clinic as the nurses who work there were administering the vaccine.

Normally, the nurses are not authorized to do things like prescribe antibiotics or administer shots. Springer said the nurses are covered, under an order from the County Medical Director John Karduck.

Theresa Horner, executive director of Health and Wellness, said she was thrilled the clinic could offer vaccinations at Pitt-Johnstown.

“Initially, we could not get a clinic,” Horner said.

She said that another free vaccine clinic could be held again if she found more students interested.

Springer said he did not think the H1N1 virus strain was not as formidable as it had been made out to be.

“This did not turn out to be a full-blown deal. It didn’t have to be,” he said. “(But it) enhanced our preparedness to handle (a future pandemic).”