The Georgetown County School District is having to delay giving a free H1N1 vaccine to middle school and high school students because of a lack of availability from the S.C. Department of Environmental and Health Control.

"We will have to reschedule some schools, but others will remain as scheduled," said district spokesman Ray White. "For elementary and intermediate schools, the vaccines will be available as previously scheduled. That age group is a priority."

Middle and high schools will be rescheduled for the free DHEC clinic as the vaccines become available.

The district originally planned to give all schools from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade the shots on Nov. 2. A second shot is required for students in third grader or lower. Parents are also required to be with their children who are in pre-K to third grade when they receive the shot. Children less than 10 years old need two doses of the vaccine.

About 3,400 of the district's 10,300 students returned their permission slips to receive the vaccine.

The free H1N1 flu vaccine will be made available to Horry County Schools students beginning Nov. 9, according to Horry County Schools' Web site.

In South Carolina, DHEC received 332,900 doses and has distributed 186,400 doses through its clinics and through doctors' offices, pharmacies and other agencies that registered to be providers, said DHEC spokesman Adam Myrick.

"We really at the mercy of the distributer on this thing," Myrick said. "We are certainly experiencing a slower delivery of the vaccine than expected. We expected to see about 1 million doses. We are seeing a third of that, and it's slowing things down."

The 1 million dose estimate was based on modeling done by the Centers for Disease Control based on population estimates.

It has been about three weeks since the vaccine started arriving in South Carolina.

Parents and others who are concerned about getting a swine flu shot can also contact their local medical provider to see if they have doses available, Myrick said.

"The best thing everyone can do who is anxious about getting this vaccine is to check with their doctors," he said. "We have 600 or so private doctors and providers who are part of this network. We are not the only game in town."

Staff writer Claudia Lauer contributed to this report.