Seven-year-old Matthew Alongi of Marietta sat in nurse Reba Wood's office Thursday afternoon, shaking with nervousness. The Sope Creek Elementary second grader, along with his 3-year-old sister, Kaydee, were about to receive both a seasonal flu shot and the new H1N1 intranasal flu vaccine.

"I'm not scared of the spray thing, but I don't want the shot," Matthew said, as he sat in the metal chair, swinging his legs.

Cobb & Douglas Public Health offices are the only place to get the H1N1 vaccine right now. The agency received 4,200 nasal-spray doses of the H1N1, or swine flu, vaccine on Monday and the first doses were administered on Thursday.

The state health department has advised the county health department to focus for now on giving the vaccine to children ages 2 to 4, as they are more susceptible to the flu strain, but Karen Thomas, Immunization Director for Cobb & Douglas Public Health, said her agency will not turn away any child or adult wanting the vaccine.

"We are targeting 2 to 4 year olds, they're our priority group, but we won't tell someone no if they want the vaccine for themselves or their children," Thomas said. "But the focus is also on those who are healthy. We will not administer the vaccination to a child who has breathing problems or a stuffy nose."

The vaccination, along with the seasonal flu shot, are available at all of the Cobb department's six locations. The H1N1 was available at the main Marietta office Thursday morning, and by around noon, it was available at all other locations. The seasonal flu shot costs $25, while the swine flu vaccine is free of charge. According to Lisa Crossman, director of prevention services for Cobb and Douglas Public Health, 25 residents were vaccinated with the swine flu vaccine as of 2 p.m. Thursday. The vaccine will be given on a first-come, first-serve basis until they run out of the doses. The clinic is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Both the H1N1 and seasonal-flu vaccinations will be available at the agency's Mass Flu Clinic from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Jim R. Miller Park.

Dennis Alongi, Matthew and Kaydee's father, said that after looking at the numbers of people diagnosed with the disease through media reports, he decided to bring his two young children to the clinic to receive the vaccination. He also decided to receive the vaccination for himself.

"I know how bad the disease can be, and would feel terrible if I put my kids in that position and could have done something about it," Alongi said.

Matthew was calm while the H1N1 intranasal vaccine was administered, but started crying when he knew he was about to receive the seasonal flu shot.

After the injection, though, he smiled and wiped his tears away.

"It didn't feel bad. It doesn't feel bad!" he said, as he and his sister picked out stickers as a reward.

Crossman advised that all healthy children should be vaccinated to prevent the spread of the flu viruses.

Cobb County Schools District spokesman Jay Dillon said that the system is not planning to administer the vaccination through its schools, but will do so if the health department asks them to.

August and September brought a stretch of schools absences due to flu-related illnesses, but that the number of absences has dropped in the past week.

"We have advised parents about preventative measures and notifications when we do have children with flu-related illnesses, but not much has changed from the school system's perspective and protocols," Dillon said. "We, of course, encourage parents to keep their kids at home if their children are showing flu-related symptoms, especially if they have a fever. We then ask that the students not return to school until the fever has subsided."

The same can be said for Marietta City Schools' protocol.

"We have not been contacted or advised if we will be administering the vaccination through the schools," said Thomas Algarin, that district's spokesman. "We had one confirmed case at the magnet school, but it's really hard to find out right now if a student's flu is H1N1 or the seasonal flu. But regardless, we hope it stays contained and will continue to keep parents informed."

Local colleges are also publicizing the swine flu risks. Kennesaw State University has a link on the home page of the university's Web site that relays updated information from the CDC regarding the swine flu.

Southern Polytechnic State University leaders offered seasonal-flu shots last week, and about 75 people took part.

"We're encouraging our students to visit their private physicians if they come down with flu-like symptoms, and are keeping them updated on where they can receive the swine-flu vaccine should they decide they want it," said spokeswoman Sylvia Carson. "We have had no confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus yet, so we're just trying to keep students informed ... in the hopes that this will prevent the spread of the flu."