Federal funding could give St. Joseph a financial shot in the arm in the fight against the H1N1 virus.

The St. Joseph Health Department will receive nearly $109,000 through the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services to vaccinate residents for H1N1 — also known as swine flu. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will fund the national campaign.

Although the City Council will not vote on a contract to accept the money until Oct. 19, the health department has begun work with other agencies to determine how it will publicize and distribute vaccines, according to Assistant Health Director Robin Rhodes. The contract will allow the city to bill the state for work done as far back as early this summer. The first batch of vaccines could arrive in early October.

“Regardless of when the monies are released, we’ll probably be under way with vaccines,” Mr. Rhodes said.

He said early estimates indicate St. Joseph could receive 89,000 doses of the H1N1 vaccine. A priority group of about 18,000 emergency workers, children and pregnant women stand first in line for the vaccine. With St. Joseph’s first shipment expected to number about 10,500 — and each subsequent shipment half that number — the health department hopes residents remain patient about getting the vaccine.

“It doesn’t take a lot of math to figure out, with the way this is rolling out, it’s going to take a few months to do this,” Mr. Rhodes said.

Buchanan County residents outside the city limits are eligible to receive the vaccine, which will be distributed through a number of medical clinics, pharmacies and other service providers. The department plans to spend $30,000 on advertising to let residents know where they can get the vaccine, once providers have been determined.

Health departments throughout the state will receive money to combat the pandemic, including the bordering counties of Andrew ($26,045) and Clinton ($30,836). Mr. Rhodes said departments in Northwest Missouri had already discussed plans to shift vaccines across departments if some counties see more demand than others.

The World Health Organization declared a global H1N1 pandemic June 11 — the first such declaration in more than 40 years.

Clinton Thomas can be reached at clintonthomas@npgco.com.