Lagging shipments of flu vaccine have more people lining up at fewer locations to get their shots.

More medical organizations received vaccine shipments in the past few days, and are joining county health departments in the Northern San Joaquin Valley and foothills in offering clinics.

But because some doctors and supermarket chains do not have the vaccine yet, eager customers are turning to drugstores and clinics that do.

"I've been watching the stores for flu shots," said Diana Volponi, in line for a shot Tuesday at Longs Drugs on McHenry Avenue in Modesto. "I wanted to make sure I got one."

Flu shot clinics were delayed this year because of vaccine manufacturing delays. Typically, flu shots are offered in late September or early October.

Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave two reasons for the slowdown: a problem growing a specific influenza strain, and action taken by the federal Food and Drug Administration against two vaccine manufacturers.

The government also called upon health departments to first give shots to people 60 and older and those with weakened immune systems.

In Stanislaus County, crowds are lining up for flu shots at, among other places, senior centers in Modesto and Turlock.

As of last week, the county Health Services Agency had given slightly more shots than it had at this point last year, said Rose Ann Peterson, a supervising public health nurse with the county.

Still, the department should not run out of vaccine, she said.

"I think we'll be able to cover our senior population," she said.

Tuolumne County cannot say the same, at least not yet. Public health nurses turned away about 20 people from flu shot clinics in Sonora and Tuolumne City this month, with the nurses reserving what they hope is enough vaccine to give shots to 250 people in Groveland on Thursday.

"Last year, we used our allotment in four months," said Kathy Amos, a manager with the Health Department. "This year, we'll give it all within two weeks."

San Joaquin County officials also are seeing more people turn out for flu shots.

In about one month, the Health Department there has given at least 3,500 doses of vaccine. Department officials said they expect to receive more flu vaccine this year than last, enabling them to give shots to everyone who wants them.

Merced County, the last county in the region to offer flu shots, will begin clinics Thursday. Officials there, too, expect to have enough vaccine to last through flu season.

Meanwhile, the Visiting Nurse Association of the Central Valley got a shipment of vaccine last week -- a shipment it was not expecting until later this month.

With the vaccine, nurses gave flu shots at Longs on McHenry Avenue in Modesto Tuesday. Nurses will be on hand from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today to give shots at Longs on Carpenter Road in Modesto and Longs on Lander Avenue in Turlock.

Visiting nurses also were scheduled to give flu shots at Save Mart and Safeway stores this fall, but had to postpone those shots because the nurses do not have enough vaccine yet.

Even if the rest of the flu vaccine does not arrive until next month, there is no reason to panic, said Peterson, with the Stanislaus County health agency.

After getting a flu shot, it takes two weeks for a person to develop immunity to the bug, she said. Because flu season does not peak until late December, vaccines given in late November still should protect against flu.

Health departments and consumers are not the only ones watching flu shot supplies carefully.

Rep. Gary Condit, D-Ceres, said last week that he is calling for hearings on the vaccine situation. In a statement, he said he is particularly worried about Southern California counties, where health officials may cancel clinics because they do not have enough vaccine yet.

He said he is concerned that "some private health care providers, if they are capable of paying a premium price, are experiencing no trouble" receiving vaccine.

Flu shot information

• Stanislaus County, call 558-8872
• San Joaquin County, call 468-3481
• Merced County, call 381-1022
• Tuolumne County, call 533-7400

Reprinted by permission of Modesto Bee.