Mayo Clinic will vaccinate up to 1,500 pregnant women against pandemic H1N1 influenza Friday and Monday. 

The injectable vaccine will be available at Mayo's Gonda Building, in the 16th floor walk-in clinic, from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. today and Monday, says a Mayo announcement.

About 6 percent of confirmed H1N1 deaths in the U.S. have been pregnant women who make up about 1 percent of the population, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.

Last week, two southeastern Minnesota children died of H1N1 complications, and H1N1 is now widespread in almost every state.

Only currently pregnant Mayo patients will be able to receive the vaccination.

The vaccine is being allocated to hospitals and clinics based on the number of patients they serve, said Mayo spokesman Bryan Anderson. "We are not given extra vaccine for non-Mayo patients," he added.

Post-Bulletin by Jeff Hansel, 10/22/09

Tags: flu, H1N1, Infectious Diseases, vaccine