The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has chosen Wednesday to be the official first day of flu-shot season, which will last until November. Therefore, people should not wait any longer to get vaccinated against the flu.

As the CDC reported, influenza vaccines should already be available in many places. Preparing for the 2009-2009 flu season, quite a few vaccine manufacturers started shipping their products since August. It seems that a record-setting amount of influenza vaccine will be available this season.

Because the CDC recommended all children between the ages of 6 months and 18 years should be administered this year’s influenza vaccine in order to prevent contracting the virus, approximately 30 million more people could get vaccinated.

By adding this age group, between 143 million and 146 million doses of influenza vaccine will be manufactured for use across America throughout this influenza season.

During the past 10 years, health officials have been enlarging the recommendations on which population segments should seek protection from the flu. 2008 is the first year when children up to 18 years of age, except infants younger that 6 months old, are advised to receive the flu shot.

According to public health officials, this flu season’s vaccine will provide an increased effective protection against influenza than the previous season’s flu vaccine because, currently, all three strains the vaccine include have been changed. Last year, there was a poor match between two of the vaccine’s strains and the influenza strains that circulated in U.S.

But, although the recommendations aim at an expanded age group, many people, not only those under the age of 18, will not comply with the vaccine requirements, said Julie Gerberding, an infectious disease expert and CDC Director.