New Brunswick's deputy chief medical officer of health is apologizing for what he describes as the bedlam that surrounded the H1N1 vaccine rollout in October.

'We apologize for the absolute bedlam when we ran out of the vaccine in the beginning, but it is available to everyone in the Moncton area now.'— Dr. Paul Van Buynder, deputy chief medical officer of health

Vaccination clinics for the general public have started in the province and health officials hope the days of long lineups are over.

When the first doses of the H1N1 vaccine arrived, thousands of people across the province had to wait hours in the cold for their vaccinations.

In that early phase of the rollout, clinics in Moncton and Saint John ran out of vaccine while people were still waiting in line.

Dr. Paul Van Buynder, the deputy chief medical officer of health, said the province is sorry for the inconvenience to people in those communities.

"We apologize for the absolute bedlam when we ran out of the vaccine in the beginning, but it is available to everyone in the Moncton area now," Van Buynder told CBC News on Monday.

Last week, Progressive Conservatives — the Official Opposition — questioned the New Brunswick government's initial handling of swine flu vaccinations.

Extra doses

Van Buynder said the confusion in those early delays stemmed from a shortage of vaccine.

But he said the province is expecting to receive more than 120,000 doses of swine flu vaccine this week. And public health officials have received an additional 50,000 doses of vaccine from Ontario for this week's clinics, he said.

Van Buynder said he anticipates clinics will run smoothly considering the amount of vaccine now available.

"If you went to one of the clinics, not right at the very start, you generally walk right through each of the stations, getting registered, getting vaccinated, taking the 15 minutes then being on your way," he said.

Even though the peak of the swine flu appears to have passed, people should not become complacent about getting vaccinated against the H1N1 virus, van Buynder said.

"Because we have extra vaccine, we really want to make sure that people who aren't protected at this point get protected within the next two to three weeks," he said.

"This virus will be back next winter. It will become part of the seasonal pandemic."

Van Buynder said this year's shot will provide some protection for next year, but he encouraged people, especially in high-risk groups, to get a seasonal influenza shot every year.