Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo County public health departments are among 25 public health agencies across the state that received less than half of the H1N1 vaccine they requested.

According to sources at both county health departments, the agencies each ordered approximately 40,000 doses of the vaccine in September. Santa Barbara County's department received about 14,000 doses, said spokesperson Susan Klein-Rothschild. San Luis Obispo County's department has received approximately 10,000 doses, according to Michelle Shoresman, county emergency preparedness coordinator.

Both agencies are waiting for more.

"We don't know when it will come and I think we've tried to stop guessing," Shoresman said. "State and local health departments are frustrated with the amount of vaccine we've gotten to this point."

Dr. Gilberto Chavez, chief of the state Center for Infectious Diseases, echoed local frustration about the vaccine supply.

Chavez said the state had expected to have distributed 6.5 million doses of the vaccine by mid-November. Only about half of that has been distributed, so far. Chavez expects the state will order around 20 million doses this flu season.

Statewide, more than 4,800 people have been hospitalized with the H1N1 virus, with 266 deaths. Over the past week, 773 cases have been recorded and 17 patients have died, Chavez said.

The highest concentrations of outbreaks have been in schools, but the number of pediatric cases and the number of fatalities have decreased, he explained.

"It really is just an issue of vaccine availability. I think our counties are eager to vaccinate. We are eager for them to vaccinate," Chavez explained. "We have been working very closely with local health organizations. They know their communities best. They know where the vaccine needs to go. They know the health providers."

Santa Barbara County currently is distributing its latest shipment of vaccine through a series of public clinics. Earlier supplies were distributed to local pediatricians and obstetricians, who targeted at-risk children and pregnant women.

"We are all waiting for the vaccine to be delivered. It's totally unpredictable," Klein-Rothschild said of the deliveries. "Sometimes we get less than 24 hours notice when it's coming."

San Luis Obispo County's health department also used health care providers to get the first 8,400 doses to children and pregnant women, and distributed a few hundred to health care workers, Shoresman said.

The agency also is planning to distribute the vaccine through county schools, beginning with elementary schools. Information packets for the vaccination clinics were sent home to parents this week. Parents who want their children vaccinated must sign and return the permission slips promptly.

Shoresman said the county has received only about 25 percent of the vaccine it has ordered, so far. Like public health care agencies across the country, it is in a waiting line for more.

The state is distributing the vaccine it receives to both public health departments and private health care providers. Kaiser Permanente, because of its size with more than 8 million members, was chosen by the state to distribute the vaccine and received early shipments.

Chavez said distribution to county health services has been based on population figures. Smaller counties have received smaller shipments of the vaccine.