Flu shots could be in short supply next month.

Local flu clinics scheduled for November are being postponed because health officials expect delays in the shipment of the vaccine from the state.

Despite the delay, officials with the state Department of Public Health say the vaccine should still arrive in plenty of time for the flu season.

The Norton Board of Health announced Tuesday that it was canceling flu clinics that had been scheduled for Nov. 21, Nov. 28, Nov. 30 and Dec. 8.

The Nov. 14 clinic will be held as scheduled, but it is fully booked. The other clinics will be rescheduled. Health Agent Leon Dumont said his office expected to get the vaccine by Nov. 1, but state officials notified him late last week that the shipment will not arrive until the end of November.

Many of those who had signed up for the clinics - mainly the elderly and high-risk residents - have been understanding about the postponements, Dumont said.

State health department spokesman Donna Rheaume said municipalities should not panic.

"There's still plenty of time to get a flu shot," she said. "We're telling the local boards of health that when they get the shipment date from us, to go ahead and schedule the clinics."

Some area residents are frustrated about the delay.

"We were getting calls earlier this year and telling everyone to call back in late October. Now it's late October and we're telling everyone to call us back in late November," North Attleboro Public Health Nurse Anne Marie Fleming said.

"There is plenty of vaccine out there; it's just been a little slow getting to the public health clinics," she said. "We'll be scheduling the flu clinics as soon as we receive the vaccine."

Fleming suggested residents who don't want to wait for the town's flu clinics to be scheduled should check local pharmacies, which may receive the flu vaccine sooner than the town.