There are several options for flu shots, including the first mRNA flu vaccine, which was developed by Moderna

There are several options for flu shots this year, including a new mRNA-based flu vaccine developed by Moderna and Sanofi's Fluzone, which is available as a regular shot and as a high-dose version for people over 65.

The flu season has arrived earlier than expected this year.

The rate of flu-related visits to a doctor's office, emergency room or hospital for the week ending Sept. 13 was double what it was last year at the same time, according to Epic Research, which gathers data from hospitals that use Epic for their electronic medical records. That translates to the flu season landing about seven weeks earlier than in 2025 or 2024.

The Epic data, which was published Thursday, show that the flu is hitting states like Alaska, Hawaii, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas the hardest. The drugstore chain Walgreens has seen a double-digit jump in sales of cold and flu medications as well as cough drops, according to a report in ABC News.

"For people who are there, I'm telling people: 'Get your flu shot ASAP,'" said Celine Gounder, an infectious-disease doctor and editor at large for public health at KFF Health News. "For everybody else, before the end of the month. We have this expression: Flu before 'boo' for Halloween."

There are several flu shots available this year, including Moderna's (MRNA) mFLUSIVA, a new mRNA-based shot that's approved for Americans who are at least 50 years old. When compared with GSK's (GSK) Fluarix, Moderna's vaccine produced higher antibody titers, according to a small study that evaluated the two vaccines in 75 people in the U.S. and that was recently published in Nature Immunology.

The mFLUSIVA vaccine is more effective than other flu shots, although it comes with more side effects, which are similar to what people experience with Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine.

There are also the standard options available like CSL Seqirus's Fluad, which is approved for older adults; AstraZeneca's (AZN) FluMist, a nasal spray that is approved for children and adults younger than 50; and Sanofi's (FR:SAN) Fluzone, which is available as a regular shot and as a high-dose version that has been cleared for use in people over 65. All available flu shots in the U.S. are trivalent vaccines, meaning they help protect against H1N1, H3N2 and B/Victoria.

This year's flu season may be worsened by a mutation in the H3N2 strain, particularly in people younger than 25, according to Gounder. Flu rates are also rising early in other parts of the Northern Hemisphere, such as Japan and the U.K.

-Jaimy Lee