Officials in Quebec City say a shortage of vaccine will force them to shut down vaccination clinics for two days. (CBC)A shortage of H1N1 flu vaccines will force officials in Quebec City to shut down the region’s four vaccination centres, the president of the health agency serving the provincial capital region said on Friday.

The centres will be closed on Monday and Tuesday, as officials only have 20,000 doses of the vaccine remaining in their stock, Michel Fontaine said.

He encouraged those who are eligible to try to get their vaccination this weekend.

"We will accelerate our rhythm and give the most vaccinations possible over the weekend, but we won’t have any more as of Sunday night," Fontaine said.

Officials said they expect to have more doses of the vaccine later in the week and hope to start busing school children to vaccination centres on Wednesday or Friday.

Montreal begins vaccination of children aged 5-19

Also on Friday, Montreal public health authorities said they are moving children and young adults up the H1N1 vaccination schedule because of the number of young people entering hospital with swine flu infections.

Montrealers between the ages of 5 and 19 are eligible to receive the H1N1 vaccine now, three weeks earlier than what the original inoculation calendar set out.

Richard Lessard, a physician and director of the Montreal public health agency, said he has received reports of a spike in the number of young people admitted to hospital.

"We would like to see them [immunized] as soon as possible," he said at a news conference. "We have lots of availability, and we have the vaccines as well to do the immunization, so we welcome those groups" starting Friday morning, he said.

Families of people with suppressed immunity and of children under five years old can also get the vaccine now, Lessard said.

The Montreal Health Agency is reporting that between 15,000 and 20,000 people in the region are showing up to be vaccinated each day — far fewer than the number of doses available.

Flu spreading slowly

The H1N1 flu hasn't spread across the province as quickly as authorities feared because of the widespread vaccination program, officials with Quebec's Health Ministry said.

Quebec is well into the flu virus's second pandemic wave, but the extent of the outbreak can't be assessed until it reaches a plateau, said Dr. Alain Poirier, the province's top public health officer.

The province is in Week 5 or 6 of the second wave, which is expected to last as long as 12 weeks, Poirier told reporters at a news conference in Quebec City.Health Minister Yves Bolduc says children between the ages of five and 19 years old are the next priority vaccination group. (CBC)

Hospitals are reporting that the proportion of beds being used by patients with respiratory problems and other swine flu symptoms has increased by about five per cent since the flu's second wave began. That rate is about twice as high as it is during the off-flu season, but is still less than the critical 10 per cent mark that would worry hospital administrators, Poirier said.

The vaccine is causing side effects for a large number of people, he added. Between 15 and 20 people who received the vaccine reported having a severe reaction to the shot, which represents about 1.5 people per 100,000, Poirier said.

Minister defends plan

Meanwhile, Quebec Health Minister Yves Bolduc defended the government’s vaccination schedule Friday, reiterating that vaccinating children between the ages of five and 19 years old is the priority.

Some seniors groups have been critical of the fact that seniors will be among the last groups eligible for vaccination.

But, Bolduc said the government’s decision is based on epidemiological evidence showing who is most at risk of contracting the swine flu.

Most regions have begun vaccinating children between the ages of five and 19; people with suppressed immune systems and their family members; as well as children between six months and five years of age and their parents.

Bolduc also defended the government’s decision to have school children bused to vaccination centres rather than vaccinating them in their own schools.

He said the government’s meningitis vaccination campaign took six months to vaccinate 1.7-million students — time the government simply does not have to fight the H1N1 virus.

Despite the fact the virus does not seem to be spreading as fast as expected in Quebec, Bolduc reiterated the importance of being vaccinated.