PRINCE.EDWARD.ISLAND (CBC) - Ontario's health minister has urged people to stay away from immunization clinics in the province this week unless they are in the six priority groups of people who most need the swine flu vaccine.

Deb Matthews said tens of thousands of Ontarians have already received the H1N1 flu shot, but she repeated that supplies are "significantly lower" than expected because of reduced production by the vaccine's manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline.

"The federal minister of health has assured me that over the coming weeks and months, there will be enough vaccine for everyone who needs it and wants it. However, exactly when we will receive that vaccine is not known at this time," she said.

"If you are not a member of a priority group, please wait your turn," Matthews said at a news conference Sunday.

Ontario's priority groups are:

Matthews said hundreds of doctors now have the vaccine and they "will now be able to do consultations over the phone."

Matthews said her government will be setting up more clinics once the vaccine supply increases.

Dr. Arlene King, Ontario's medical officer of health, said there have been 31 deaths among lab-confirmed cases of H1N1 influenza in the province.

She said 609 people with confirmed infections have been hospitalized to date. Of those, 527 patients have been discharged and 82 people with the illness are in hospital.

"The vast majority of people with the flu recover fully at home," King said, adding that the recent deaths of children from H1N1 in Ontario "were a rarity, well outside of the norm."

She said about 300 deaths related to seasonal influenza are reported to health officials every year in Ontario.