President Obama's declaration of a national emergency regarding the H1N1 virus is a procedure designed to help hospitals and should not cause a panic in Westfield, according to the town health officer.

Health Officer Megan Avallone said the declaration, which comes as local governments nationwide continue to wait for the the H1N1 vaccine, will help hospitals with the larger amount of H1N1 patients expected in the coming months. It will allow hospitals expedite treatment of those with H1N1 and move emergency rooms offsite in order to not infect other patients.

"It has nothing to do with municipal procedures," she said.

Avallone said she is still waiting on the H1N1 for the Health Department. She said there have been delays from the drug companies and is hoping for the doses to arrive soon.

"It should be here any day but that was the story last week too," Avallone said.

Once the doses arrive, clinics will be scheduled for residents in the towns served by the regional health agency. In addition to Summit, the department serves Westfield, Fanwood, Springfield, Garwood, Roselle Park, Mountainside and New Providence. Avallone said the first clinic will likely be in Westfield. Depending on if the vaccine is the live or injectable vaccine will also determine the way the clinics are set up. Avallone said the department is expecting 2,500 doses of the live vaccine for the 110,000 residents served by her department.

"We're going to prioritize the highest risk groups," she said, noting that pregnant women and children under the age of 25 with chronic health problems are among the highest risk groups.

The clinics will likely not involve pre-registration and will be first come, first serve with onsite screening for the high priority groups. Avallone said she plans on scheduling clinics in all of the towns served by the department allocating doses per clinic.

She said residents should not worry about the various myths floating around about the vaccine, including that it could cause birth defects or other diseases including Persian Gulf illness. She said the vaccine has been tested and would have likely been incorporated in to the seasonal flu vaccine if H1N1 had been caught in time.

"It's complete misinformation," Avallone said of the rumors about the vaccine. "The seasonal flu vaccine is new each year and this has gone through the same testing."