A larger group of Minnesota residents can receive the swine flu vaccine, after a new recommendation by the state health department Tuesday.

All people from 6 months to 24 years old are now eligible to receive the vaccine, as well as people from 25 to 64 years old with an underlying medical condition. Previously identified priority groups such as pregnant women, health care workers and emergency medical service personnel, and people living with or caring for children under 6 months old also can receive the vaccine.

The announcement comes even as state health officials say the virus is waning in Minnesota. Six new Minnesota deaths have been attributed to swine flu, with a seventh linked to nonspecified influenza, but officials pointed to a decreasing number of hospitalizations and fewer school outbreaks statewide as signs the virus is losing steam.

"I'm willing to say we've peaked in the fall wave and are coming down," said Dr. Ruth Lynfield, state epidemiologist.

Winona County officials acted quickly on the recommendations expanding the eligibility for the swine flu vaccine. A free public clinic held Tuesday originally set up to vaccinate children from 5 to 9 years old was expanded to include the new groups after the announcement, said community health director Lynn Theuer.

The state has now received nearly 1 million doses of the H1N1 vaccine, prompting the expansion in who can receive it, said Kris Ehresmann, Minnesota Department of Health director of the infectious disease division. Health workers will need about 2.7 million doses to vaccinate everyone in the expanded list of priority groups, she said, so residents may still be in for a wait.

Still, officials are encouraging residents to get the vaccine when it's available, because the state could experience another wave of the H1N1 flu later this winter, Lynfield said.

"It's still very important that people try to pursue the vaccine," she said.