MOUNT VERNON — Due to an overwhelming turnout at Saturday’s drive-thru clinic, the Knox County Health Department is out of seasonal flu shots for adults. The health department gave more than 900 flu shots in approximately three hours during the annual drive-thru clinic at the Knox County Fairgrounds.

“With our staff in place and a line of cars forming outside the fairgrounds, we were able to open the gates a little after 8 a.m,” said Health Commissioner Dennis Murray. “There was a steady stream of traffic until we had to start turning folks away around 11 a.m.”

Prior to Saturday’s drive-thru clinic, the health department had given more than 1,400 flu shots at community clinics and to homebound individuals.

“The drive-thru clinic completely exhausted our supply of vaccine,” said Murray. “This is the earliest we have ever been out of flu vaccine.”

At this time, the health department is not expected to receive any additional vaccine for seasonal flu.

“To my knowledge, there are no seasonal flu vaccines left in the county at this time,” Pam Palm, public information officer for the health department, said this morning.

Manufacturers start producing seasonal flu vaccine in the spring for the strains anticipated to hit in the fall, based on flu activity in the southern hemisphere. The county health department places its order in the summer. She said that once the federal government placed an order for H1N1 vaccines, however, the manufacturers switched gears from producing seasonal to producing H1N1 vaccines. Palm said she expects that once production is complete for H1N1, production will return to seasonal flu vaccines.

The health department is offering the H1N1 vaccine to EMS personnel, health care providers and pregnant women. Depending on the arrival of additional H1N1 shipments, health department officials hope to offer the H1N1 vaccine to children at the beginning of November. Consent forms are scheduled to be sent home to parents the week of Oct. 26.