Marion County schoolchildren soon will have a chance to be vaccinated against H1N1.

Starting Monday, the Marion County Health Department will offer clinics at every elementary school in the Indianapolis Public Schools system and seven other school districts.

Health officials also will visit elementary schools in Speedway and in Decatur, Pike, Perry, Wayne, Washington and Warren townships by Nov. 20. Then they’ll turn to middle and high school students.

“The overriding goal is to offer this vaccine to all school-age children and complete that by Christmas break,” said John Althardt, department spokesman.

Because the school systems in Beech Grove and in Franklin and Lawrence townships chose not to offer clinics during the school day, the Health Department is still working out details of clinics there, officials say.

Private and parochial schools also will be included in the Health Department’s plans.

The county decided to focus on elementary schools first, since young students are most likely to spread the flu, said Dr. Virginia Caine, director of the Marion County Health Department.

Marion County has about 161,480 schoolchildren. Health officials expect that 30 percent to 50 percent of families will opt to have their children vaccinated and return the consent form.

The department is asking parents to fill out and return the form within a day of receiving it so it has an idea of how much vaccine to bring to each school.

So far, the county has received about 63,000 doses of the H1N1 vaccine and is receiving 5,000 to 7,000 doses a day.

If that were to change, the department might have to reassess its plans, Althardt said.

“We’re cautiously optimistic that the vaccine supply will hold steady, but we are at the mercy of the availability of vaccine,” he said. “If our goal is to try to vaccinate these children . . . by the end of December, now is the time to go.”

Depending on how many students participate, Health Department officials will decide later this month whether to offer second doses to those who need them. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that children age 9 and younger receive two doses.

Parents of younger children will have to visit their doctor or mass vaccination clinics. Although about 78,000 children in Marion County attend day care, many of those programs are too small to make offering clinics there effective, Caine said.

If supplies continue as expected, by the end of December, health officials might offer the opportunity to be vaccinated to members of the public who don’t fall into one of the risk groups.

In addition to children ages 6 months to 24 years, pregnant women, health-care workers, caregivers of children younger than 6 months, and people ages 24 to 64 who have chronic health conditions are considered at high risk.