If they had received the vaccine when patients wanted it in October and November, the leftovers likely would have been minimal.

But a national distribution glitch meant the vaccines trickled in, with batches coming in December. While the vaccine was still useful - influenza season peaks in February - patients either went without or looked elsewhere.

Nationally, 18 million doses are expected to be incinerated because they expire in June and won't match next year's flu strains.

"It's a dramatic loss, a financial loss," said John O'Donnell, chief operating officer of the West Valley City Granger Medical Clinic, which had 1,500 doses left over that he said will cost the clinic $17,000.

''We were confronted with big ads in the newspapers saying, 'Come to Wal-Mart, come to Shopko.' Meanwhile, we had nothing. Those companies had doses available but a primary-care physician in the community did not. There's something wrong.''

The doomed doses show how hard it is to balance vaccine supply and demand.

For the 2007-08 season, the private companies that manufacture the vaccine say they will make at least 132 million doses for the United States, a record amount. Federal health officials want companies to keep their production up - both to vaccinate more Americans and stay prepared for an epidemic.

But Utah County's health department, for one, will be ordering less.

'Just no interest:' Of the four health departments along the Wasatch Front, Utah County ordered the most doses at 20,000, and has the most to destroy - 5,000 - which are worth $51,250.

"There's just no interest in it," said Lance Madigan, spokesman for the Utah County Health Department. While ''we do have flu throughout the year, it's a lot less significant at this time.''

The problem was a national one. While companies made a record 121 million doses, there were production delays. And because many people wrongly believe the vaccine is only good before Thanksgiving, the late-arriving doses went unused.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say October and November is the best time to get vaccinated, but getting shots in December or later is OK because the flu often strikes in January. And the season can last until as late as May.

Gwen Hadley, assistant nursing director of the Weber County Health Department, said she received a small batch of the 6,000 she ordered on time, but the rest came in December. She had already planned clinics for senior citizens and had enough for two clinics but had to scrounge for 1,000 doses for a third.

"We were clinic to clinic not knowing if we would have vaccine," she said. It was ''very frustrating when we know there's enough vaccine out there, we just can't get it.''

Hadley has tried to give some of the 400 leftover doses to homeless shelters, but hasn't found takers. "Most of it's just going to go to waste."

Davis County Health Department blames the distribution problem for running out of vaccine during a senior citizen health fair. But in the end, it has 2,100 doses left over, worth $15,120.

"Health departments were particularly hard hit. It makes it really hard to plan and execute clinics when you're running out all the time," said Lewis Garrett, director of the health department.

Predicting demand:

The Salt Lake Valley Health Department received its shipment on time, but still has 625 pediatric doses remaining.

Spokeswoman Pam Davenport said the department probably needs to do a better job educating parents to get their children vaccinated.

"It's only been in the last two years the CDC has recommended that all children get vaccinated," she noted.

The CDC now recommends vaccinations for 200 million Americans, including the young, the elderly, and those with certain health problems. It would like 90 percent of adults over 65 to get vaccinated, for example, but only 65 percent do.

Up to 20 percent of the U.S. population gets the flu, with 200,000 people hospitalized and 36,000 people dying every year.

In the end, Utah's flu season was considered average. There were no pediatric deaths, and 265 hospitalizations by mid-April, compared with 476 last year.

Though Utah County has ordered 5,000 fewer doses for next year - partly because it felt "burned" - other departments ordered roughly the same amount. Everyone knows there is no guarantee they will get it on time.

"It's really hard to predict how bad the flu season will be," said Davis County's Garrett. "When the flu is virulent, demand goes way up. We don't want to be caught without having the flu vaccine on hand."

To ensure that doesn't happens, O'Donnell, at the Granger Medical Clinic, suggests the federal government needs to take control of manufacturing or distributing the vaccines. Until that happens, he said, "adequate amount of doses will not be available when needed."

hmay@sltrib.com

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* THE ASSOCIATED PRESS contributed to this story.

Source: Health Department estimates