As the number of H1N1 cases continues to increase, Ottawa's medical officer of health is appealing to parents of healthy school-aged children to wait until high-risk people get the swine flu vaccine first.

Dr. Isra Levy told reporters Wednesday that healthy school-aged children would not be turned away from immunization clinics.

But when parents started showing up with their schoolchildren Thursday, he asked the public to be patient and let people in high-risk groups get the swine flu vaccine first.

Levy said the children won't be turned away if they show up, but he is asking parents to wait until the clinics for the general public begin in about two weeks.

"So I think it's a good news story that the demand is what it is, because people are interested in getting the vaccine, and we will do what we can, as quickly as we can, to deliver it to everyone," Levy said.

"We'd obviously prefer that people in high-risk groups be afforded the opportunity by others to the degree possible."

Levy said Wednesday afternoon, when the lineups at vaccine clinics reached three hours long, that medical officials think the decision not to include healthy children over the age of five in the first round of vaccinations is a "sound one."

"But we do understand and recognize the interest of our parents in our community, and I can confirm that we will not refuse any school-age child who wants the vaccine," Levy said.

Members of priority groups for the vaccine include children between six months and five years of age, and people under 65 with chronic medical conditions.

The Eastern Ontario board of health announced earlier in the week that it was putting school-age children on its priority list for vaccination after Vanetia Walter, a previously healthy 10-year-old girl, died at an Ottawa hospital over the weekend after being diagnosed with swine flu. Starting Friday, all children were to get priority access to the vaccine in the counties of Stormont, Dundas, Glengarry, Prescott and Russell and the city of Cornwall, where Vanetia went to school.

A 13-year-old Toronto boy also died Monday of H1N1.

Meanwhile, the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario has been reporting a huge surge of patients showing flu-like symptoms in its emergency room. Across the city, 37 new H1N1 infections were reported Thursday.

On Wednesday, 77 of Ottawa's 348 schools reported more than 10 per cent of their students absent, according to Ottawa Public Health. However, absenteeism isn't necessarily linked to flu symptoms.

Municipal officials in Ottawa reported that 7,500 city residents received the swine flu vaccine at local clinics Wednesday, up from 4,200 on Monday.In addition, 500 doses of vaccine were sent to paramedics to vaccinate their staff, and thousands more were expected to be sent to the city's fire department and police services as early as next week.