JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. -- People all over Colorado are desperately waiting to get the H1N1 vaccine before they or their children gets sick. While many are finding it hard to get, 7NEWS discovered inmates in at least one local jail will be getting the vaccine this week.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said they received 110 doses this week. They have about 1,300 inmates. The vaccine will be distributed to inmates considered high risk by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with staff members who work closely with sick inmates.

Many people, like Nicole Davis, a mother of two daughters, aren't pleased.

"That is not fair when there are tons of children and babies out in the world that could use it," said Davis.

But the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said the men and women in their care have rights.

"We have an obligation to take care of their health," said Jacki Kelly, of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.

That included giving high risk inmates the H1N1 vaccine even though there is a shortage, she said. The vaccine is distributed to the jail by the county health department.

"The jail has identified that they have priority patients," said Christine Billings, of the Jefferson County Health Department. "No matter where you fall in the realm of social things, you are a priority patient."

Billings said it is the duty of a public health department to provide the vaccine to high risk patients no matter where they live -- including in jail.

Kelly said vaccinating the inmate population saves taxpayers money.

"If we had an outbreak in our jail it could be a huge expense," said Kelly.

In Jefferson County, the health department said every doctor or practice that has asked for the vaccine has received at least some doses.

"Now we are in the request mode, where everybody has been given the opportunity to receive some and now they are sending requests for us and we are reserving for our big clinics now," said Billings.

The doses are given out evenly across the county to offices or practices that applied for the vaccine, said Billings.

But some patients just don't think it is right to vaccinate inmates before the general population.

"If something was to happen to my baby and my baby couldn't get a shot because the inmates had used them all up, I would be pissed," said Davis.

The health department said people labeled high risk who are still waiting for the vaccine should come to one of their upcoming clinics.

For dates, times and locations of the Jefferson County clinics log on to Jeffco.us.

The Jefferson County Jail is not the only agency vaccinating inmates. The Department of Corrections is also vaccinating inmates, beginning with high-risk patients. The Weld County Sheriff's Office said it is in the process of vaccinating youth at their juvenile detention centers.

The Larimer County jail also plans to give H1N1 vaccine to inmates with high-risk health conditions and to guards who work with them.

"The problem is we haven't gotten the vaccine yet," said Eloise Campanella, spokeswoman for the Larimer County Sheriff's Office. "There's short supply. We don't know when we're getting it.

"But when we do get the vaccine that's exactly who we're giving it to: the inmates with a chronic-care condition," she added.

Campanella said it's important to prevent the outbreak of infectious illnesses, such as tuberculosis, in the close-quarters of a jail.

"The other part of the reason is probably humanity. If it hits the jail big time and it hits our deputies also, it could create a lot of problems," she stressed.

In Denver jails, officials are providing high-risk inmates with regular flu shots.

"All the medical professionals are saying it takes so long to determine if a person has H1N1 that by the time you figure out that they've had it, you've treated it like the regular flu and it's over with," said Denver sheriff's Captain Frank Gale.

"All the medical professionals are saying it takes so long to determine if a person has H1N1 that by the time you figure out that they've had it, you've treated it like the regular flu and it's over with," he added. "So if someone presents flu-like symptoms, we'll just treat it like the regular flu and see what happens. And if it gets worse, then we'll take some more significant measures to try to deal with it."

Deputies are being educated about strategies for preventing the spread of flu and are making an "extra effort" to sanitize work areas and inmate living quarters with cleaning products, Gale said.