MONROE - Those hoping to get an H1N1 vaccination before all those holiday gatherings might be in luck - if you meet the recently expanded target group requirements.

On Monday, Wisconsin Department of Health Services announced the group eligible to receive the vaccine has been expanded to all school-aged children and young adults up to age 24.

Previously, only children younger than 4 or those with underlying health conditions were recommended to get vaccinated.

The department said it was expanding the vaccination group based on the supply of vaccine that's available and feedback it's received from providers.

Even though the state's been assigned to receive more than 1 million doses of vaccine, the state health department says it's not enough to open vaccinations to everyone.

With the news of the expanded target group, the Green County Health Department has begun a two-hour appointment period, Monday through Friday, for those in any of the open target groups, said Joni Marty, Green County Health Department nurse.

"Supplies are looking better," she said, but Marty didn't know exactly how many doses the department is receiving on a per-order basis.

Prior to Monday, only health care workers in direct contact with patients could receive the vaccine if they volunteered to receive it. Once they were treated, pregnant women could receive the vaccine, followed by those who live with infants under 6 months of age. Finally, before vaccines could go directly to schools and the general population, people between the ages of 5 and 18 with medical conditions that put them at high risk for the swine flu virus were eligible for treatment.

Fifteen people made appointments for Monday's H1N1 vaccination period at the county office, Marty said.

The demand for flu vaccinations hasn't appeared to fluctuate much since the county first received only 200 of the 6,000 doses ordered, Marty said, despite the new increase in supply.

In early November, the county received another 500 doses, and opened vaccinations up to children ages 6 months to 4 years old.

The doses have been arriving in nasal spray and injection forms.

It is difficult to tell whether the holidays will have an impact on the demand for swine flu vaccinations, Marty said, but there is now a larger opportunity for those seeking the treatment.

In addition to the vaccinations by appointment at the health department, RoAnn Warden, Green County health officer, Monday began scheduling vaccination clinics in the county's schools, Marty said.

The clinics likely will take place during school hours in early to mid December, giving the schools time to get permission slips to parents, she said.

As of Tuesday, there were 38 confirmed cases of H1N1 flu in Green County, and 10 in Lafayette County since Aug. 30, according to the state Department of Health Services. Statewide, 12,517 cases have been confirmed since April.

However, it is difficult to tell exactly how many cases of swine flu exist in the county because hospitals only are confirming cases of severely ill people who are hospitalized and pregnant women, Marty said.

- The Associated Press contributed to this article.