NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The government paid for underprivileged children to get flu shots at no cost. However, complex rules for the program mean that some flu vaccines paid for with tax dollars are being thrown away, even though it could be used by others.

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Lamont Turner got a real eye-opener about how confusing and wasteful a government flu vaccine program can be.

"I can't buy what they're giving away," said Lamont Turner.

He took his 2-year-old grandson, Braylor, to a pediatrician for a flu shot. But the doctor couldn't give him one because all she had were doses for kids on the state-run heath care system known as TennCare.

But Braylor wasn't on TennCare and not eligible to get these flu shots.

"They have them sitting there, but I can't buy one. I just don't understand," said Turner.

It turns out that doctors have to have two separate supplies of vaccine: one of them they buy for their private patients and one the government gives them for children who receive TennCare. It's against the law to sell paying patients the government vaccine.

To make matters worse, this year the federal government is behind schedule in sending pediatricians their TennCare doses.

Dr. Ralph Greenbaum of Nashville ordered 500 doses but has only received two small boxes of vaccine that holds 20 shots.

Because the government vaccine is late in arriving, TennCare is telling the doctors to give children who are insured by TennCare their private stock.

The bad news is that they won't have enough for their private patients.

When the TennCare vaccine finally arrives, the unused government vaccine will get thrown away because the TennCare children have already had their shots.

Since the doctors are forbidden from using the government vaccine to paying patients, the shots go in the trash, even though taxpayers bought it and people like Turner were willing to buy it.

"I can't buy what they're giving away. That's beyond me. I don't understand why," said Turner.

The state health department said about three-quarters of the vaccine that pediatricians ordered has already been sent from the manufacturer to the distributor.

Currently, it's a matter of getting it from the distributor to the doctors, which is expected to happen in the next few weeks.

Greenbaum said he would like to get his flu vaccine by Oct. 1. He said the sooner a person is vaccinated, the sooner it stops children from spreading the flu at their schools.