BOSTON -- Many Massachusetts families are meeting with frustration or confusion trying to get their children or other at-risk candidates vaccinated against the H1N1 flu, but state efforts to distribute it have been fraught with complications.

Because of a production shortage, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is doling out specific amounts of the vaccine to states based on population. Early allocations are to go to infants and toddlers and others with underlying health conditions.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health then determines to which communities the vaccine is distributed. All 351 of the state's local boards of health have received some doses for distribution, according to DPH spokesperson Jennifer Manley, who said it's up to the local communities to decide who receives it, how and when.

Manley said some towns are "stockpiling" the doses they have received, while others have held clinics. Communities must report to the Department of Public Health each week on how many vaccine doses they have used.

"We think local boards of health have been doing a good job," Manley said, adding that the state would give communities an "A" for their efforts. She could not provide any data on which the assessment was based, however, saying, "We don't know how many shots have been given out."

Because Manley could not say how many in Massachusetts have been vaccinated, she said she also did not know how many of the estimated at-risk population remained in need of vaccination.

Manley said 825,000 doses of the H1N1 vaccine will have been distributed in Massachusetts by Oct. 12. She said the state began distributing them Oct. 4.

More than 2,500 "primary" sites in the state, such as hospitals, pharmacies, VNA offices and Councils on Aging, registered and requested doses of the H1N1 vaccine from the state, according to Manley. Only 1,000 of those primary sites have received any doses.

They needed to sign up with the state's vaccine registration program before its deadline, Manley said. She was not certain when the deadline was but said any sites that had not registered before that time would be unable to receive the vaccine.

"Everyone I know is doing their best," said Marcia Benes, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of Health Boards, but she said in some respects local boards are being forced to "fly by the seat of their pants."

"They don't know before it arrives what they're getting in that vaccine packet," she said. "Until they see what they get in that week's shipment ... they can't really predict in advance" whether they will be able to hold a clinic or what segment of the population they will be able to vaccinate.

"It's a real puzzle to try to work out supply and demand," she said.

In Hingham, for instance, the town of 21,000 has received a few allocations of 100 doses at a time, according to Bruce Capman, the town health officer. They estimate, however, that there are at least 4,000 children between the ages of 10 and 24 who need to be vaccinated.

Rather than risk a mob scene at an open public clinic, where demand would outstrip supply, they have opted instead to offer the small allocation of doses to at-risk pregnant women by appointment only. They published a notice of availability to that group in the local paper last week.

"When we have sufficient vaccine, we'll hold a large clinic at the high school for 10-to-24-year-olds," Capman said.

He said individual families with younger infants and toddlers have been advised to schedule vaccinations through their pediatricians' offices and the town will then be responsible for older children when more vaccine becomes available.

In Needham, a town of about 28,000, there has also been small allotments of 100 doses a week, said Janice Berns, director of the local board of health.

"It's been a very frustrating process but I'm getting the sense that we should be turning a corner soon," Berns said.

She said the town also provided vaccinations from its small allotment to pregnant women, high-risk children and students in the Elliott Elementary school, one of five in the town. It was chosen because it had the smallest student population.

"We've had a lot of people waiting for one or another or both," Berns said, referring to inquiries from residents for both the H1N1 and seasonal vaccines.

"It's frustrating for staff because we're ready to go," she said.

TheBostonChannel.com wants to know: Has your community received allocations of the H1N1 flu vaccine? Has your town held a flu clinic? If so, let us know where you live. If not, do you know why? Share your experiences in obtaining the vaccine below or e-mail us by clicking here.