Washington (CNN) – Americans are starting to lose confidence in the government's ability to prevent a nationwide epidemic of the H1N1 flu, according to a new national poll.

But the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey, released Tuesday morning, indicates that a small majority continue to say that the government and private industry will eventually produce enough swine flu vaccine to inoculate everyone who wants it.

According to the poll, 51 percent of those questioned are confident in the government's ability to prevent an H1N1 epidemic, with 49 percent not confident. The number of Americans who are confident is down 8 points from August, while those not confident are up 9 points.

"Only one in 10 say they are 'very confident' that the government can ward off an epidemic," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "But the growing doubts may not be directly related to the shortfall of vaccine so far."

The survey suggests that 53 percent say that government and private industry can produce enough vaccine for everyone who wants a swine flue shot. That number is essentially unchanged since August.

The poll indicates that one group in particular is skeptical about the government's efforts to battle swine flu.

"Only 43 percent of mothers with children under the age of 18 are confident in the government's ability to prevent an epidemic," says Holland. "That's 7 points lower than fathers and 10 points lower than people who don't have young children. Mothers are also most likely to think that there will not be enough vaccine to go around."

According to the poll, 57 percent approve of how President Barack Obama's handling the government's response to H1N1, with 4 in 10 saying they disapprove.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll was conducted October 30-November 1, with 1,018 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points for the overall sample.

Federal health officials report that the swine flu is still widespread in 48 states, but add that the supply of vaccine has reached 32 million doses, double what was available two weeks ago.