All U.S. forces in South Korea have secured enough vaccinations against the H1N1 influenza, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

"I can also tell you that our forces on the Korean Peninsula have received now a hundred percent of their requirement this week, roughly 26,000 doses," spokesman Geoff Morrell was quoted as saying by Yonhap News Agency in a daily news briefing.

The U.S. maintains about 28,500 troops in South Korea as a deterrent against nuclear-armed North Korea, the legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in a fragile armistice.

The announcement comes as South Korea Tuesday raised its flu alert to the highest "red" level to prevent the rapid spread of the influenza with the freezing winter just around the corner.

An average of 8,857 South Koreans caught the new flu per day last week, up from 4,420 the week before, with 42 South Koreans having died from the flu since August.
Both South Korea and the United States are in short supply of the H1N1 vaccines.

"We are still operating with a limited quantity, we have to prioritize those who will get it," Morrell said. "And according to our prioritization list, our military forces and those who support them are at the top of that list."

The spokesman said that "We, like a lot of institutions right now, have a very limited supply of vaccine."

He said that Central Command has received "about 50 percent of what they require for their roughly 300,000 forces."