Una Sawyer, 3, of Pawtucket seems to have not a care in the world as she prepares to receive the H1N1 nasal spray vaccine from Dr. Ed McGookin at Coastal Waterman Pediatrics in East Providence. At right is her father, John Sawyer.

The Providence Journal / John Freidah

As the swine-flu pandemic raises awareness of flu vaccines, the supply of vaccine against ordinary seasonal influenza is falling short of demand.

The Health Department announced Tuesday that Rhode Island will not get as much seasonal-flu vaccine for adults as it ordered. Doctors’ offices are running low and some public flu clinics will continue to be canceled. Some adults who want a seasonal flu vaccine may not be able to obtain it.

Even so, more adults will be able to get flu shots this year than they did last year.

And there will be plenty of seasonal-flu vaccine for children. However, some shipments will be delayed until December — still well before the flu’s peak in February and March.

“The demand for seasonal flu [vaccine] has been much higher than expected,” said Health Director David R. Gifford. “There is more awareness of influenza this year than ever before.”

Flu vaccine — both swine flu and seasonal flu — is produced through a biological process that can be unpredictable. Manufacturers do not always get as many doses as they expect. In previous years they would boost production to compensate for shortfalls. This year, however, they are focused on producing swine-flu vaccine, Gifford said. Two manufacturers, GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis, have ended shipments of seasonal-flu vaccine.

The state ordered 298,000 doses of seasonal-flu vaccine for adults, but expects to receive only 253,000 doses. Already 80 percent have been delivered. Last year, 240,000 adults received the seasonal-flu vaccine.

For children, the state originally ordered 140,000 doses of seasonal-flu vaccine, and two-thirds of them have arrived. The rest — plus an additional 14,000 ordered to meet the growing demand — have been delayed until December.

The Health Department is recommending that health-care providers reserve any injectable seasonal-flu vaccine for elderly people, pregnant women, and people with underlying medical conditions, because they are at highest risk of complications.

Meanwhile, on the swine-flu front, the first injectable vaccine is expected Wednesday and Thursday. Those 3,000 doses are targeted for pregnant women, who can start getting it from their obstetricians next week.

Nearly 15,000 doses of nasal-spray vaccine against swine flu have been distributed to pediatricians for certain children age 2 to 5. Injectable vaccine for children is expected in the next couple of weeks, but the swine-flu vaccine shipments have been sporadic and unpredictable.

“That has continued to frustrate us,” Gifford said. “It’s coming in dribs and drabs.”

Still, the state plans to start school-based vaccination clinics against swine flu on Nov. 2. More than 400 free, voluntary clinics will be held for children in kindergarten through 12th grade, encompassing those in public and private schools as well as home-schooled children. For children to get a swine-flu shot, parents must sign a consent form that is being distributed by the schools or through the mail.

Because swine-flu vaccine is coming in more slowly than expected, the school clinics will probably be spread out over six weeks, Gifford said. A computer program will randomly choose the order in which the clinics will be held, matching the available vaccine with the size of the school.

“We will need 30,000 doses a week to run these clinics,” Gifford said.

Asked how he could have confidence in having 30,000 doses by Nov. 2, Gifford at first let a long silence fall. “I am hoping we will have enough,” he then said. “The theme is being flexible and adaptable.”

Dr. Elizabeth B. Lange, president of the Rhode Island chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said that distribution of the swine-flu nasal spray vaccine has been “going remarkably well.”

She also noted that sickness seems to be on the rise in the last couple of days.

“The pediatric offices are seeing an uptick in the number of children with influenza-like illnesses,” she said. “I think our time is coming.”

ffreyer@projo.com