El Paso County’s first scheduled H1N1 flu clinics have been canceled after the state received far less vaccine this week than it expected.

The state has received 50,000 doses, slightly more than a quarter of the 183,300 it expected, according to The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. In El Paso County, 14,000 doses of H1N1 vaccine are expected in the next two weeks, which is less than half of what was originally anticipated, the El Paso County Department of Health and Environment said in a news release.

“This is frustrating, especially for those individuals who know they have an increased risk and are anxious to get the vaccine,” said the state’s Chief Medical Officer Ned Calonge, in a state news release. “It is also proving difficult for local health departments and others who have set up flu clinics and now may not have enough vaccine this week to conduct them.”

Although delayed, vaccines for anyone who needs them are expected to eventually arrive, he said.

Health care workers remain the top priority, because they run the highest risk of both exposure as well as exposing people who are sick and could suffer grave complications. Additionally, widespread absenteeism at hospitals or doctors’ offices could bog down the health care system.

After health care workers, the state says any additional vaccine should go to:

-Children ages 6 months to 4 years

-School-age children and teens 5-18 with chronic health conditions

-Pregnant women

-Parents and caretakers for children younger than 6 months.

Buses prepare to leave the Metro Bus Terminal at Kiowa Street and Nevada Avenue Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009. Photo by Kevin Kreck, The Gazette

Kevin Kreck