Tammy Burke

Staff Photo by Angela Lewis Brycen Wheeler, right, watches as Jerrie Smith, center, gives his brother, Kade Wheeler, a flu shot at Erlanger South Family Medicine on Thursday morning.

The seasonal flu vaccine is now in short supply, thanks to a surge of early demand for vaccinations fueled by concerns about the H1N1 flu, according to local providers.

Demand for regular seasonal flu shots is through the roof, said Laura Darnell, one of the office managers at White's Pediatrics in Dalton, Ga. The office ran out of regular flu shots about two weeks ago, she said.

"Especially with the increased fear out there with the swine flu, people are just being extra cautious," she said.

Local public health officials say most years they see a drop in the supply of flu vaccine but not usually this early in the season.

Nearly all local health departments in Chattanooga and North Georgia are cleaned out of regular flu vaccine. Some health departments in Southeast Tennessee have a limited supply left, said Beth Delaney, spokewoman for the Southeast Region of the Tennessee Department of Health, which includes the 10 Tennessee counties surrounding Hamilton County.

Most regular flu vaccines are given in doctors' offices, while health departments typically provide only 10 percent of flu vaccinations to the community, officials said.

All Walgreens pharmacies in the area are currently out of the regular flu vaccine, according to local pharmacy technicians at the stores.

"It's been pretty much every day, all day long, people (calling) seeing if we have it. ... Everybody's just trying to get it," said Vanessa Eddins, pharmacy technician at the Walgreens on Gunbarrel Road, which was the last of the company's local pharmacies to have the vaccine in supply.

Due to the short supply, CVS now only will offer regular flu shots at its MinuteClinics, instead of all CVS stores, said spokesman Mike DeAngelis.

More vaccine will be here soon, public health officials say.

Vaccine manufacturers are working to produce and distribute both regular seasonal flu vaccine and H1N1 vaccine, contributing to delays, said Logan Boss, spokesman for Northwest Georgia Public Health.

"We know people who are trying hard to find seasonal flu vaccine are frustrated, but we want them to know there's still plenty of time to get seasonal flu vaccine, so keep looking," he said.

Nationwide, about 71 percent of the seasonal flu vaccine that will be produced and distributed this season already has been delivered, and the rest will be on the way before the end of November, said Tammy Burke, director of clinical services with the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department.

Fortunately, practically all cases of flu currently reported in the region are H1N1, not regular seasonal flu, health officials said.

"Very hopefully, the pipeline will open up before we start seeing seasonal influenza circulating in our county," Ms. Burke said.

In the meantime, everyone should practice proper hygiene by washing hands and covering the nose and mouth when sneezing, she said.

Where to find seasonal flu vaccine

* Check with your doctor.

* Check with CVS MinuteClinics.

* In Southeast Tennessee, Franklin, Sequatchie, Meigs, McMinn and Rhea counties have very limited amounts of seasonal flu vaccine left, as of Thursday.

* * Bi-Lo will hold flu clinics at a number of stores in Chattanooga next week: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Oct. 26 at 23rd Street store; 3-7 p.m. Oct. 28 at the East Brainerd store; 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Oct. 30 at Soddy-Daisy store; 3-7 p.m. Oct. 30 at Dayton store; 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Nov. 3 at the Etowah store