Instead, county health officials said they are redirecting 11,000 doses of the H1N1 vaccine to health care providers and community clinics throughout the county who serve those at the highest risk of complications from the swine flu.
About 90 percent of the H1N1 vaccine that's distributed to Alameda County by the California Department of Public Health has been shipped directly to health care providers and community vaccinators countywide, county officials said.
They said they expect the next shipments of the vaccine will be delivered to health care providers and to the county health department next week.
County health officials said that instead of holding onto the county's existing supply until next week, they decided to deliver it to providers this week.
Dr. Muntu Davis, Alameda County's Public Health Officer, said in a statement, "We hope moving this interim investment of supply into the hands of providers and clinics will help meet the immediate needs of those at highest risk before the next shipments arrive."
Alameda County's next scheduled mass vaccination clinics are scheduled for Dec. 12.
On Wednesday, the county health department will announce confirmed clinic locations and target populations on its Web site, www.acphd.org.
The county says it has vaccinated 19,000 people at clinics this month.
However, county officials are disappointed that a shortage of supplies has kept them from doing more.
Davis said, "The public is profoundly frustrated that they cannot acquire the vaccine from health care providers and many providers have indicated that waiting lists for high-risk patients are escalating."
County public health officials estimate that 650,000 county residents are at high-risk for H1N1 complications, including pregnant women, children and chronically ill adults.
