If You Want A Flu Shot, Better Start Looking

It's starting to look as if this year's flu season could be a bad one. Influenza cases began a month early, a particularly nasty strain of the virus popped up too late to be included in vaccine preparations, and at least nine flu-stricken children in Colorado and Texas have died. Now comes word that vaccine manufacturers have shipped their entire inventory — enough for the usual quota of 80 million shots. But demand has been so high that some areas are beginning to see shortages.

Health officials say there's still a lot of vaccine in the distribution pipeline, and they're making plans to shift supplies, if needed. But if you want a flu shot and haven't got it yet, there's no point in tarrying any longer. Healthy folks ages 5 to 49 who cannot find the vaccine can ask their doctors about a new option: FluMist, a nasal-spray vaccine. It costs $25 to $55 more than the standard shot, but several million doses of FluMist, which isn't suitable for the frail, are still available.