HARRISBURG -- State health officials are asking Pennsylvanians to be patient as they wait for sufficient doses of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine to arrive in the coming weeks.

With people all over America demanding either the flu mist or injectable form of the vaccine, Deputy Health Secretary Michael Huff and Acting Physician General Stephen Ostroff said today that far fewer doses of vaccine have been received so far than were requested.

As of Tuesday only 788,600 doses had been allocated to vaccine dispensers in Pennsylvania, compared to the 1,880,266 doses that state officials had hoped to receive by this time. That means there are more than 1 million doses less than state officials had been expecting by now. Flu mist is sprayed up a person's nose while injectable vaccine is given with a needle.

"We recognize that many people are frustrated trying to find the H1N1 vaccine," said Mr. Huff. "We too are frustrated by the production delays. We are promptly distributing all of the vaccine allocated to us by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, so it reaches those who need it the most."

The state expects to receive several hundred thousand additional doses each week through Jan. 15, by which time it should have received just over 6 million doses. That's enough for about half of the state's population but still less than the 7 million doses requested by 662 certified providers.

Dr. Ostroff cautioned that "projections are just projections," and it isn't guaranteed that Pennsylvania will have 6 million doses by January.

Mr. Huff said people should still take the vaccine when it's available, even if it is January or later, because there could be another round of flu outbreaks in the spring.

Of the 788,600 doses of the vaccine distributed so far, 221,000 went to schools and universities; 189,700 were sent to pediatricians; 177,100 to hospitals; 146,700 to family practitioners and other primary care medical providers; 23,000 to rural health centers; 20,000 to public health centers; 5,700 to ob/gyn doctors treating pregnant women; and 4,500 doses to other facilities, including visiting nurses.

There are five groups of people considered to need the swine flu vaccine the most: people between ages of 6 months and 24 years; caregivers for children younger than 6 months; health care provides and emergency medical personnel; pregnant women; and people under age 65 who have underlying health conditions. These groups will have priority for getting the vaccine.

As has been previously said, the swine flu has been hitting younger people in Pennsylvania and other states. Nearly 44 percent of the cases in this state are youths aged 10 to 19; nearly 20 percent are in the ages 5 to 9; 12 percent are people age 20 to 29; nearly 10 percent are toddlers under 5.

Health officials reminded people to take precautions against spreading the flu, such as covering your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, washing your hands frequently and staying home from work or school when you are sick.

Looking for more from the Post-Gazette? Join PG+, our members-only web site. You'll get exclusive sports content, opinion, financial information, discounts from retailers and restaurants, and more. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.