US states, counties struggle to deliver H1N1 shots

* Vaccines will wait until after December in many places

* Credibility of public health system at stake

* Members of Congress say it's an old problem

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor

WASHINGTON, Nov 4 (Reuters) - States and counties will be struggling to vaccinate people against the swine flu pandemic well into December and January -- long after the first peak of the virus in the United States, officials said on Wednesday.

Federal health officials also said it will be years before things get any better, despite years of planning.

"It is likely that the current wave of infections will peak, crest and then decline before full vaccine supplies are delivered," Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told a House of Representatives Appropriations subcommittee.

The briefing painted a picture of the problems dogging health departments at the height of the pandemic, which has killed at least 1,000 Americans and more than 5,700 people globally.

"Our school-based vaccination efforts have now been delayed until late November or early December," Dr. Donald Williamson of the Alabama Department of Public Health told the briefing -- not a formal Congressional hearing.