enlarge The Associated Press

David Oelerich stands by some of the Santa Claus suits he rents to Santas around New England and Canada at his “Costumes of Nashua” shop in Hudson, N.H., on Tuesday.

CONCORD, N.H. — Forget cookies and milk. Santa wants the swine flu vaccine.

Some of the nation's Santas want to be given priority for the vaccine, and not just because of those runny-nosed kids. There's also the not-so-little matter of that round belly. Research has suggested obesity could be a risk factor.

Swine flu has become such a concern that the Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas featured a seminar on the illness at a recent conference in Philadelphia. The group also urged its members to use hand sanitizer and take vitamins to boost their immune systems.

The president of the organization said he hopes parents will keep sick kids away.

"We don't want any child to go without seeing Santa, but it's not worth bringing your child to the mall, infecting the Santa and infecting the other children," Nicholas Trolli said.

He recalled a boy who informed him last year that he had a fever and had stayed home from school. But, the child said, his mother thought it was a good day to visit Santa.

Ernest Berger, president of another group called Santa America, asked an Alabama congressman last week to designate Santas a priority group for the swine flu vaccine, like health care workers or infant caregivers.

A spokesman for Republican Rep. Jo Bonner confirmed Berger's request and said staff members were looking into it.

Berger hopes Santas will use hand sanitizer and encourage children to do the same, without turning the experience into a hygiene lecture.

"It's a delicate balance here. This is not an exercise in health care. This is visiting Santa," he said.

Berger estimates that about two-thirds of all American Santas are overweight, and about one-third are morbidly obese. That raises health concerns because some research has suggested obesity could be a risk factor for severe swine flu.

A high proportion of those who have gotten severely ill from swine flu have been obese or extremely obese. But health officials have also said that might be because heavy people tend to have asthma and other conditions that make them more susceptible.

The 200 or so Santas who volunteer to visit sick or grieving children through Santa America will be washing their suits daily instead of weekly and will not be wearing gloves this year so they can wash their hands frequently, Berger said.

John Scheuch of Prairie Village, Kan., said he might suggest to parents that they come back another time if a child is visibly ill.

"The kids are in the strollers, sniffling and coughing and hacking. In the meantime, they're interacting with other kids in line," he said.

Scheuch, executive director of Santa America, has taken some personal precautions. "I've had my H1N1. I've had my seasonal flu shot. This is my year for my pneumonia booster," he said. "I don't know what else I can do except encapsulate myself in plastic."

Three Maine Santas said getting vaccinated against H1N1 is not a major concern to them.

Romeo Belanger, 61, of Topsham has played Santa during holiday parties at the Harraseekett Inn in Freeport as well as during the town's Sparkle Weekend.

He hopes to be asked to play Santa this holiday season. Of the swine flu, he said, "I haven't given (getting vaccinated) that much thought."

Terry St. John, 64, of South Portland has played Santa Claus at family gatherings since 1967. He has never worked at a mall.

If he did, St. John said he wouldn't bother getting vaccinated.

"I wouldn't even give (the H1N1 vaccination) a second thought," he said. "(But) I kind of understand with so many kids sitting on your lap that the flu would be a concern."

Not for Ron Hager, 73, of Portland, who retired last year after a quarter-century of playing Santa and is contemplating writing a book regarding his experiences.

If he did work at a mall, the retired education professor...