Santa Clara County declared a local emergency yesterday, setting aside $500k for free clinics, which will administer the swine flu vaccine to thousands of uninsured residents when the vaccine becomes available in mid-October.

Most residents are encouraged to get the vaccine from their primary physicians or health care providers, and the clinics will fill in the large gaps of the community without access to these resources. Young people aged 5 to 24 will be first in line to receive the shots, followed by children 4 and younger, pregnant women, and the chronically ill.

As noted earlier this month, San Francisco has already been organizing free clinics for the City and County of SF.