Colleges and universities in Rhode Island will begin next week vaccinating students up to age 24, as the availability of swine-flu vaccine improves.

Also, school-based clinics will be held as scheduled next week and enough swine-flu vaccine for every child ages 6 months through 5 years will arrive in pediatricians’ offices by the end of next week, Health Director David R. Gifford said Tuesday.

Gifford reported the state’s eighth swine-flu death on Sunday –– a 50- to 60-year-old man from northern Rhode Island who had no underlying health conditions.

The swine-flu epidemic in Rhode Island is starting to decline, but the state continues to see “historic levels of illness,” Gifford said. About 9 percent of visits to physicians’ offices are for flu-like illnesses; typically at this time of year, it’s less than 2 percent. Eight schools are experiencing double the normal level of absenteeism.

But vaccine is finally reaching large numbers of people. With enough vaccine available for children and pregnant women, the state has started focusing on other high-priority groups — the first being college students who live on campus, because dorms keep people in close quarters where diseases spread easily. The nine colleges and universities with residential students will work out their own arrangements with the Wellness Company, a mass vaccinator, to hold campus flu clinics between Nov. 30 and Dec. 18.

Then, starting Dec. 14, colleges and universities serving commuter students will begin their flu clinics.

For both groups, the majority of doses are nasal spray, a vaccine that contains a live virus and is not recommended for people with chronic illnesses.

Approximately 65,000 people ages 18 to 24 are enrolled in colleges and universities in Rhode Island, including people who are not residents of the state. They will all get the vaccine for free, paid for with federal funds.

The residential schools are Brown University, Bryant University, Johnson & Wales University, Providence College, Rhode Island College, Rhode Island School of Design, Roger Williams University, Salve Regina University and the University of Rhode Island. The nonresidential schools are the Community College of Rhode Island, Lincoln Technical Institute, the New England Institute of Technology and URI’s Providence campus.

Rhode Islanders ages 18 to 24 who do not attend college will have to wait till late December or January before they can get vaccinated, even if they have underlying conditions.

The reason, Gifford said, is that diseases spread quickly among college students, putting them at higher risk than others. Also, the goal is to vaccinate all college students before they leave for Christmas break, when they will be traveling around the country and at risk of transmitting or catching the disease.

For those traveling over the holiday, Gifford recommends bringing plenty of hand sanitizer (in 3-ounce bottles for those traveling by plane) and using it often.

ffreyer@projo.com