PORTLAND (AP) – Some flu shot clinics are being postponed across northern New England because of delays in receiving the vaccines, but officials said it should be a short-term problem.

Some vaccine deliveries are being pushed back into December because of delays with suppliers, said Dr. Dora Anne Mills, director of the Maine Bureau of Health. While the delays are causing some isolated shortages, they shouldn’t cause widespread shortages like the ones experienced last year, she said.

“People are definitely concerned about not getting flu vaccines right now,” Mills said. “But we’ve been able to identify there is vaccine around the state, but there are some spotty shortages.”

October or November is the best time to get vaccinated, but people can still get their flu shots in December and later, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Flu season can begin as early as October and last until May.

The state of Maine has ordered 140,000 doses and received all but 30,000 of them, Mills said. They will go to health care providers around the state, who will give them to high-risk individuals.

CVS is among the places that have postponed flu clinics because of delayed shipments.

The drug store chain postponed hundreds of clinics that had been scheduled for last week and this week because shipments from vaccine producer Chiron Corp. were running late to CVS’ supplier, said spokesman Mike DeAngelis. Clinics have been postponed at stores throughout the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, including Maine.

CVS plans to hold clinics at some 3,500 stores through November, DeAngelis said.

In New Hampshire, a shipping delay has left the state without some of its flu vaccine, prompting the cancellation of some flu clinics, said Department of Health and Human Services spokesman Greg Moore.

Moore said many clinics purchase their vaccine through the state, which ordered its supply from Chiron, the nation’s second-largest vaccine supplier.

Those shipments have been held up by federal officials, but are expected to be delivered soon.

Last flu season, Chiron had a manufacturing problem that cost the U.S. nearly half its expected 100-million flu shot stockpile.

New Hampshire clinics and health care providers that ordered vaccine from other suppliers have not had any problems, Moore said.

“We don’t look at this as an overall supply issue, it’s simply a case of a shipping delay,” Moore said.

In Vermont, the delay has forced some home health care agencies to postpone flu clinics.

“People who traditionally have gotten their vaccines in October may have to wait until November or into December,” said Dr. Cort Lohff, the state epidemiologist.

Seven of the state’s 12 nonprofit visiting nurses associations who host clinics have not received vaccines yet.

AP-ES-10-31-05 1320EST

Copy the Story Link