MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) – Thousands of people received flu shots Saturday during a successful drill to test the state’s ability to respond to a mass disease outbreak.

“Everything that we expected in terms of collaboration and support happened today,” Health Commissioner John Stephen said as he left one of the three clinics. “The state of New Hampshire should be proud that we have local communities and state employees who worked so collaboratively together in terms of public health and emergency management.”

Health officials were prepared to give 5,000 doses of the flu vaccine at three sites in Manchester, Portsmouth and Colebrook. They initially had hoped to administer shots to anyone who showed up but decided to restrict the shots to high-risk groups such as babies and the elderly because of a delay in vaccine deliveries.

No vaccine exists for avian flu, but the drill, which has been in the works for months, gave health workers the chance to run through the state’s plan for dealing with an outbreak.

“We can not be satisfied with just having a plan. A plan has to executed, a plan has to be reviewed,” Stephen said. “This isn’t just paper. We took the paper and turned it into reality.”

The drill did highlight some weaknesses, which will be presented to the Legislature in January, he said. The state needs to work on issues involving technology and communication, he said, as well as educating the public about isolation and quarantine.

Stephen said he also is concerned about whether the state is adequately prepared to care for refugees and others who don’t speak English.