BOSTON -- Inclement weather had little effect on the turnout at flu shot clinics around the state on Saturday, with thousands queuing up to receive the limited supply of H1N1 vaccine that has reached Massachusetts.

Heidi Leveille said that she traveled to Boston from Berwick, Maine, to be inoculated against the virus because her baby is too young to receive the flu shot, and the vaccine is in even shorter supply near her home.

“We decided that we don't want to pass on anything to him, so all we can do right now is protect ourselves and hope that he's okay,” said Leveille.

Leveille was in the company of hundreds of other people who stood in the rain outside Dorchester House waiting to receive the vaccine. Health officials said the turnout for Saturday's clinic and an earlier event was tremendous.

"It can hit people pretty severely in some cases," said Joel Abrams, a spokesperson for Dorchester House who attended the clinic Saturday. "There are about 4,000 deaths, actually, around the country, so I think people are very anxious to get protection."

Dr. Cathleen London, a family practitioner in Brookline, said that she encourages anyone with children to get them inoculated against the H1N1 virus. She said she's been dismayed that some of her patients mistakenly believe that the vaccine is unsafe.

"It is nonsense that it is unproven and unsafe," said London. "It is safe."

Additional Resources

• Dorchester House Flu Clinic Hotline: 617-740-2553