NORFOLK--As swine flu continues to spread among children, MacArthur Center is taking extra precautions to protect kids visiting Santa Clause.
The mall opened it's Santa exhibit Friday and it's stocked with hand sanitizers for visitors and employees.
"I think that's great," said parent Ben Drinkwine. "It's a very good way to stop spreading disease."
He brought his four children to visit Santa Saturday night. 8 year old Madison and 5 year old Elizabeth Grace have both gotten the swine flu vaccine. But Drinkwine also has a 1 month old and a 1 year old, so he didn't want to take any chances.
"It's a good precaution and it's inexpensive, so why not?" said Drinkwine.
The employee dressed as Santa Clause said he's happy about the precautions.
"I think it's good and protective against flu and viruses. I have my gloves and they do sanitize."
Saturday afternoon hundreds of people lined up for hours at a Virginia Beach vaccination clinic.
"It's worth it, we're glad we got in line as soon as we did," said parent Tina Velazquez. "You look at all of these people and I hope and pray they get a chance to get theirs too."
Portsmouth also held a vaccination clinic Saturday.
Right now the vaccine is only available for those in the high priority groups. VA Health Commissioner Dr. Karen Remley says it should be available to the general public by the end of November.
