Utah's H1N1 outbreak may be just weeks away from peaking, marking the halfway point of this fall wave of influenza, health officials say.

Yet another wave could occur in the spring, however, and the Utah Department of Health is calling on the public for its help in managing the virus' spread.

Its Utah Flu Fighters campaign, unveiled Monday, stresses prevention, vaccination and awareness. With Gov. Gary Herbert and Utah Jazz forward Paul Millsap as its spokesmen, the campaign aims to educate Utahns on how to keep from getting sick -- and when to see a doctor if they do.

"It actually promotes individual responsibility," said David Sundwall, the department's executive director. "It communicates to the public that

there are things they can to do fight the flu. You don't have to wait until you get sick, or for that matter, to get a vaccine."

While getting vaccinated is the best way to fight the communicable disease, the state's shipments of H1N1 shots and nasal spray have only amounted to one-tenth of what it expected to have by now, said Joseph Miner, health officer for the Utah County Health Department.

That means Utahns should be especially diligent about washing hands, coughing into tissues or shirt sleeves and staying home once symptoms appear.

Over the weekend, hundreds of people -- many of whom stood in line for hours -- were turned away from the Salt Lake Valley Health Department's mass vaccination clinics. It is now out of both the H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccines and is referring people to private providers.

"To be honest with you, we're learning on the ground here," Sundwall said. "We've never had a national vaccine campaign like this before, except maybe polio."

Miner said the wait in line for vaccines in Utah County is seldom longer than two hours. His health department has managed crowds by divvying out half of its supply to private providers and the rest to its mass vaccination clinics, held biweekly.

Waiting outside in the cold to get vaccinated "doesn't make sense," he said. Getting immunized is "extremely important, but not at the risk of jeopardizing people's health."

Over the weekend, President Barack Obama declared the H1N1 flu a national emergency -- a logistical move that helps facilitate the flow of federal funds and provides legal protections to hospitals trying to accommodate a surge of patients. It does not indicate the outbreak is more severe and should not cause alarm, Sundwall said.

Miner said the H1N1 flu is not more deadly and does not cause more complications than seasonal flu. However, because more people are getting infected, more people are showing up in ERs with "serious problems," which is taxing the health care system, he said.

"Going from a strategic plan on paper to implementing that plan in the midst of an evolving situation is really a challenge," said Susan Terry, a University of Utah Health Care primary care doctor. "This new Flu Fighter Web site, I think, is an excellent one-stop resource for information that will help us all in managing this outbreak."

lrosetta@sltrib.com