Young adults in Hawai'i, ages 19 to 24, are continuing to lag behind other age groups in getting vaccinated against the H1N1 flu, according to the latest information released by the state Department of Health.

As of Tuesday, 111,717 doses of nasal spray or injected vaccine had been given to people in Hawai'i.

But only 4,118 of the vaccinations, or 3.69 percent, were given to people here in the 19-24 age group, the figures show.

"We really want that group to step up and get their H1N1 vaccinations," said Judi Kern, Health Department public information specialist.

Last week, University of Hawai'i student athletes helped encourage people in the young-adult age group to be immunized by volunteering for the nasal spray vaccine.

The 5-to-18-year-old group in Hawai'i leads the way in being vaccinated, with 47,070 doses having been administered to that group as of Tuesday. That represents 42 percent of the vaccinations given, according to Department of Health statistics.

As of Monday, 77,460 vaccine doses had been set aside for school immunization clinics.

Virtually all schools are on winter break, so no school clinics were scheduled yesterday, but the school immunization program will resume once classes are back in session, Kern said. Some 284 public and private schools in Hawai'i had completed their vaccination clinics as of yesterday.

Meanwhile, the latest figures show that about 22 percent of the swine flu vaccine doses distributed so far have gone to those in the 25-to-49 age group; 13 percent to those ages 50 to 64; 9 percent to children 24 to 59 months; and 6.4 percent to children 6 to 23 months.

The figures also show that 3.38 percent of vaccine doses went to people 65 or older while less than 1 percent went to children younger than 6 months.

Kern said the percentage numbers are low at the ends of the age spectrum because the vaccine is not recommended for children under 6 months old or for adults older than 65.

In the younger age group, parents with multiple children may have taken all of them to be vaccinated at one time, and the family doctor or pediatrician decided it was OK to give the vaccine to a child who was 5 months and 25 days old at the time, Kern said.

Hawai'i no longer keeps track of individual H1N1 cases, but the last swine flu death here happened "back during the summer months," Kern said.

A total of 517,200 H1N1 vaccine doses were allocated by the federal government for the Islands, Kern said.

"The doses are pro-rated on the basis of population, so Hawai'i got .42 percent of the total doses available," Kern said.

The goal for state health officials is to provide vaccine to "anybody who wants it," Kern said. "As long as the supply (of vaccine) continues to gradually catch up with demand, we should be able to meet that goal."

Dr. Andy Nichols, interim director of UH-Mänoa Student Health Services, said he's hoping to hold a mass H1N1 immunization clinic shortly after classes resume Jan. 11.

"We're on Christmas break right now, so things are very quiet here," Nichols said.

Traditionally, there has been an uptick in seasonal flu cases about the second or third week after classes resume, Nichols said.

The student Health Center at UH-Mänoa will remain open through the winter break except for on Christmas and New Year's Day.

Swine flu vaccinations will be free for UH students.