Thousand of folks across the Capital Region will have to wait to get their regular flu shots. That's because there's a nationwide shortage of seasonal flu vaccines. Dayana Perez has the story.

AMSTERDAM, N.Y. -- "We've kind of put the seasonal flu in the backseat and now, as of recent, here in our office, we've received information stating that those that can be vaccinated with the seasonal flu could help minimize and reduce the possibility of catching the H1N1," said Eastern Medical Support C.E.O Sean Piasecki.

That's certainly good news, especially with flu season already here. But now the medical world is dealing with yet another issue. There's a nationwide shortage of the regular flu vaccine. Officials at Eastern Medical Support in Amsterdam say they still haven't received any shipment from their suppliers.

"I have clients calling me all day saying 'can I get flu shots? Can I get flu shots?' And I can't. Every distributor that I call is either sold out. Maybe I called about 26 distributors," said Eastern Medical Support employee Heather Caslar.

"What do I say to the fireman who needs that shot now who's on the front line? They are asking for the immunization now. How do I answer that when I say I don't know or maybe we can't get any," said Eastern Medical nurse practitioner Patricia Hobbs.

Small firms aren't the only ones experiencing the delay. At Nathan Littauer Hospital, officials say they're down about 1,000 vaccines.

"We received approximately 65 percent of our order and right now, we are still waiting for the additional 35 percent of our order," said Nathan Littauer Hospital Pharmacist Robert Stankes.

Staff members at Littauer believe they're experiencing the lag because manufacturers are focusing more on making the H1N1 shot.

Meanwhile, the state's health commissioner's office issued the following statement, saying " New Yorkers are asked to be patient as more seasonal vaccine is expected to be available in October, November and December in plenty of time to provide protection against this year's seasonal flu. The nation is on track to produce approximately 115 million doses of seasonal flu vaccine this year."

Health officials say so far, 50 million doses of the seasonal flu vaccines have been shipped out nationwide. But local medical firms say that should not be used as an excuse to downplay the significant delay they are experiencing in receiving those vaccines.