DENVER (The New York Times News Service) -- Health officials are recommending that almost everyone get a flu shot this year.

In the past, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended the seasonal influenza vaccine for the medically vulnerable and children between the ages of 6 months and 18 years.

This year, the CDC recommends everyone 6 months and older be vaccinated, said Joni Reynolds, director of immunization for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

According to the CDC, the decision to recommend vaccination for nearly everyone was made against the backdrop of a particularly brutal influenza season last year that included fears about H1N1, or swine flu.

About 130 million doses of influenza vaccine that includes protection against H1N1 and two other strains are expected to be distributed nationwide this year.

Some of the vaccine is already available at some Colorado Safeway and Walgreens stores, according to the health department's online flu-clinic finder. The shots cost about $30.

The vaccine will become more widely available later this month, Reynolds said.

The early appearance of the vaccine doesn't signal an early beginning to the flu season, she said.

"Winter is when we generally see flu. It usually peaks in the January-February time frame," Reynolds said. "But of course, the flu, like any virus, is unpredictable."

On Tuesday, Safeway pharmacists were administering vaccine to staff and administrators at the Denver Christian Schools-Vandellen Campus in Denver.

A Colorado law that took effect Aug. 10 allows pharmacists to administer vaccines to patients at locations outside the pharmacy, like assisted living homes, workplaces and community events.

The emergence of a nasty bug christened "swine flu," or H1N1, last year marked the first flu pandemic in more than 40 years.

The strain was identified too late to include in the fall 2009 seasonal vaccine, and so a separate inoculation was required.

Flu clinics across Colorado were canceled or postponed as high demand for the shots collided with lower-than-expected supply as drug manufacturers shifted their focus toward mass production of H1N1 immunizations.

H1N1 is expected to circulate again this year. This year's seasonal flu vaccine includes protection against H1N1, influenza B and Perth H3N2, which was detected in two influenza outbreaks in Iowa and in 11 other states this summer, according to the CDC.

A new influenza vaccine, designed for people 65 years and older, also is available this year.

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