Beginning immediately, the swine flu vaccine will be available for the general population, the Department of Health Services announced Monday.

According to DHS spokesperson Stephanie Marquis, the state has over 1.5 million vaccines coming in from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Marquis said the new opening resulted from many factors, both nationally and locally.

“We wanted to expand as quickly as we could,” Marquis said. “It’s a combination of providers feeling they are reaching target groups, as well as enough vaccines coming into the state.”

However, Marquis also said DHS is still encouraging health care providers to focus on target groups, such as children under the age of 24, pregnant women and anyone with an underlying health issue.

Still, Marquis said there will eventually be enough of the vaccine for everyone to be vaccinated, as the CDC plans to continue manufacturing the vaccine.

“The CDC allocates to the state based on population, and we allocate across the state based on geographic population as well as requests from public health departments and private health care providers,” Marquis said. “We’ll continue to distribute the vaccine as long as people continue to request it.”

Marquis said it is important for individuals to contact their local pharmacies or physicians or look for clinics in their area by dialing 211 or visiting www.pandemic.wisconsin.gov.

Students can contact University Health Services, which currently has over 1,000 vaccines and is constantly receiving more, according to UHS Executive Director Sarah Van Orman.

Van Orman said students can get vaccinated at UHS on weekdays from 9 a.m to 4:30 p.m. by simply walking in with their student ID. She said UHS will keep vaccinating as long as demand continues and she does not expect to have problems with the vaccine supply.

“Even though most people who are getting H1N1 are recovering fine, it still — for most people — can be a week out of school. No one wants to lose that time,” Van Orman said.

In order to encourage students to get vaccinated, Van Orman said UW has sent out e-mail reminders and tips on staying healthy to students, as well as e-mails to faculty advising them to support sick students during finals and promote awareness of the availability of the vaccine in their classes.

Marquis also said DHS has tried to raise awareness of the vaccine through its advertising campaign launched Dec. 7, featuring radio, television, online and other public service announcements in multiple languages.

The $500,000 campaign was the result of federal money received by the state for H1N1 awareness, and Marquis said all the money has already been allocated. She added the state does not intend to spend more money on the advertising campaign.