HOUSTON, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- A county in the State of Colorado announced Tuesday that it would offer A/H1N1 vaccines to the general public as most of the county's high-risk population has been vaccinated.

    Jefferson County health officials said that they were opening their A/H1N1 flu vaccination clinics to anyone who wants it on a first-come-first-served basis.

    Until now, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended giving the vaccine only to people in high-risk groups, including pregnant women, young people aged 6 months to 24 years and those aged 25 to 64 years who have underlying health problems such as diabetes.

    The CDC advised high-risk groups to get priority because manufacturing delays resulted in limited supplies of the A/H1N1 flu vaccine.

    But stepped-up vaccine production and the fact that many people chose not to have themselves or their children vaccinated because of safety concerns, have led to a surplus of vaccine recently.

    Health officials in Jefferson County said the county had received 101,900 doses of the A/H1N1 vaccine and had distributed 82,274 doses so far to the high-risk groups.

    More than 15,000 doses were available at clinics around the county that would offer shots and nasal sprays free of charge on the next two Saturdays, they added.

    Nationwide, with 73 million doses of the A/H1N1 flu vaccine available, Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, director of the CDC, said Friday that some communities were beginning to offer it to people beyond the priority groups. "The number of communities that do that will increase in the coming weeks."

    Local reports showed that a number of other states, including Maryland, Texas, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida and Oklahoma, had begun to offer A/H1N1 flu vaccines to all residents.

    "We're still in a period of changing gears, from a time of not having enough vaccine, to a time of having adequate supply for anyone to receive shots," Frieden explained.

Special Report:  World Tackles A/H1N1 Flu