A swine flu vaccination clinic for children with high-risk medical conditions is slated Wednesday in Ohio County.

Children 6 months old to 18 years old who have a high-risk medical condition are eligible for the clinic, scheduled from 9-11 a.m. and 1-3 p.m. at the Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department, first floor of the City-County Building, 1500 Chapline St. Appointments must be made by calling 304-234-3682.

Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Qualifying conditions may include ''asthma and other chronic lung disorders, congenital heart disease, neurologic or neurodevelopmental conditions (like cerebral palsy, epilepsy, brain or spinal cord diseases), neuromuscular disorders, blood disorders, cancer, diabetes, kidney and liver diseases, or weakened immune system,'' according to a health department news release.

The clinic was planned based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a recently released New England Journal of Medicine study, which showed children with medical conditions have the highest rates of hospitalization with the swine flu, said Howard Gamble, health department administrator.

He noted the health department has been receiving phone calls from parents of children with medical conditions who want their youngsters to receive the vaccine.

The health department has been vaccinating school-aged children during mass clinics held at various schools.

''It was a decision more or less based on data ... showing up that this group is really getting hit hard,'' Gamble said. ''The national data on kids getting sick was the driving force behind this, rather than parents calling.''

According to the CDC, the highest hospitalization rate currently is in children 0-4 years old.

Gamble noted only the injectable form of the vaccine will be used, as children with high-risk medical conditions cannot use the nasal form. Dr. William Mercer, Wheeling-Ohio County health officer, said children with medical conditions have a higher risk of developing bronchospasm or wheezing that can be caused by nasal spray.

''So if you have asthma, that could be a problem. So to be safe they don't recommend it for anyone who has a chronic medical condition because they probably wouldn't handle an asthma-like illness very well,'' Mercer wrote in an e-mail.

Preservative-free vaccine is available when requested, but amounts of this vaccine type are limited, Gamble said.