Sunny Freeman, THE CANADIAN PRESS

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TORONTO - Healthy people in Ontario won't be able to get the H1N1 vaccine on Monday as expected, but health officials believe that by doubling the number of flu clinics, extending hours, and doling out doses to family doctors, the rollout will run more smoothly.

The province's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Arlene King said Sunday that the number of clinics administering the swine flu shot will double, bringing the total in the province to over 100 clinics.

Meanwhile, hundreds of family doctors will also be administering shots, King said. She urged all high-risk residents to call their family doctors and find out whether they will administer the shot.

She also advised doctors and clinics to use up every dose they are given by the end of the week.

"Those who do have vaccine, I want to see it going into people's arms this week, I don't want people sitting on vaccine."

But healthy people will not be vaccinated "for some time" after a production problem at the manufacturer's plant significantly reduced the number of vaccines doled out to the province, she added.

The coveted doses of the H1N1 vaccine have also ended up in a private health clinic in Toronto.

Medcan, a "preventative health-care clinic" received doses of the vaccine to give to its high paying members, which caused some controversy over the weekend.

Ontario's Health Minister Deb Matthews said she would look into Toronto Public Health's decision to allot 3,000 doses to the Medcan clinic.

For each of the past three weeks, Ontario has received about 720,000 doses, but this week the province's allotment from the federal government is 189,500 doses of adjuvanted vaccine and 86,800 of unajuvanted vaccine for pregnant women.

"It was a surprise and it is disappointing that we are not going to have enough," King said.

King said that influenza activity is above the highest rate seen in the past few years. "This is a pandemic year, so all bets are off."

There have been 31 reported deaths from H1N1 so far in Ontario, including three in the past week. King said about 300 deaths related to the seasonal flu are reported every year.

King said the recent deaths of young children were a rarity.

Health Minister Deb Matthews said health workers across the province have been working as hard as they can to get everyone immunized as quickly as possible.

"This is the largest mass immunization program in our province's history, there will be bumps along the road," she said at a press conference Sunday.

She said it has been difficult because the rollout, the outbreak and policy decisions are happening simultaneously.

The province's decentralized rollout has largely been left up to local public health units which determine how they distribute the vaccine. In Ottawa and the Toronto area, clinics have had hours long wait times, while in Brantford, Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury, flu shot seekers book appointments.

Doris Grinspun, executive director of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario said more clinics should be open on weekends, but many in large urban centres were closed Sunday.

"We need to all continue as much as we can with the normal patterns of life and for that we need the clinics open Saturdays and Sundays and also late evenings so people don't need to take time off."

Higher than expected turnout at many clinics across the province has raised questions about people who are not in high priority groups being given the vaccine.

King said nurses will screen lines, but will not require proof of underlying health conditions.

Grinspun said many people are ill-informed about who is a high priority, but added asking for proof from everyone would overwhelm primary care because everyone would have go to their doctors, creating a huge burden to the health care system.

Members of high priority groups include pregnant women, children over six months but under five years of age, health-care workers, caregivers for those who are vulnerable and unable to get the vaccine, people under 65 with pre-existing health conditions, and those who live in remote or isolated communities.

King said she still believes everyone in the province who wants the vaccine will have it by Christmas.