The number of Albertans showing up at mass clinics for the H1N1 vaccine continues to drop dramatically. (CBC)The H1N1 vaccination program will be moving out of public clinics and into pharmacies and doctor's offices over the next few weeks, Alberta Health Services announced Thursday.

"I think we've committed to maintaining the program until Christmas or until the week of Christmas," said Dr. Gerry Predy, senior medical health officer for AHS.

"So, we will, in the major centres, have some availability until then."

The vaccine is already being offered in a few doctor's offices and businesses. That will expand to about 500 physicians across the province, as well as to about 250 pharmacies starting Monday, Predy said.

"We know that some people have been waiting for their physicians to get the vaccine, so we're hoping that those people will now come forward and get vaccinated."

Dramatic decline in daily vaccinations

The mass clinics, which were vaccinating as many as 50,000 people a day a few weeks ago, are now seeing about 10,000 people each day. Just over 1.1 million Albertans have been vaccinated so far, roughly one-third of the population.

The province has several hundred thousand doses of the H1N1 vaccine in storage, and has asked the manufacturer to stop shipments until the new year, when demand is expected to rise.

Predy urged people looking to get vaccinated at clinics to check the Alberta Health Services website to see which locations remain open.