Health department advises persistence in finding flu vaccines

If you are having a difficult time finding seasonal flu vaccine, the Minnesota Department of Health says not to give up.

Some clinics used up their initial doses of vaccine sooner than expected due to high demand, while others haven't received their supply yet.

Vaccination expert Kris Ehresmann said people should be persistent and keep checking in with their provider to see when more vaccine will be available.

"That doesn't necessarily mean that you have to call your clinic every single day to check and see if they have vaccine, because that would certainly do them in," Ehresmann said. "So we want you to be patient at that level, but just not to use this situation where we don't have as much vaccine as we like to cause them to not be vaccinated."

It now appears that some providers won't receive their seasonal flu vaccine until mid October - around the same time they are scheduled to receive their first shipments of H1N1 flu vaccine.

Clinical trials are still underway, but the Health Department said early indications suggest it will be safe to give both shots at the same time.