EPHRATA - State health officials are urging residents to get a flu shot, and get it early if possible.

As of now the Grant County Health District will not be sponsoring any flu shot clinics due to the wide availability of the shots at pharmacies and physicians' offices, a spokeswoman said.

The state Department of Health purchased more than 721,000 doses of the vaccine for children. The vaccine is offered free of charge to all children and youths 18 years of age or younger. All vaccines required by the state, including whooping cough, are offered to children and youths free of charge.

Health care providers may charge administration and office visit fees for the shot, but people who can't afford the administration fee can ask to have it waived. Many health plans do cover flu vaccines as preventative care, according to a press release from the state health department.

State health officials recommend flu shots for everyone 6 months of age and older, and they recommend getting the shot earlier rather than later. "Vaccine is the best protection we have against the flu. Getting it now, before people around you start getting sick, will protect you through flu season, which usually peaks in January but starts earlier," said Maxine Hayes, the state health officer.

Vaccination is especially important for young children, seniors, parents of newborns and pregnant women, and people with medical conditions like respiratory problems, heart disease and diabetes, the press release said.

The 2012-13 vaccine protects against three different strains of flu, but not a new H3N2 variant that has appeared in other parts of the country. No cases of the new virus have been reported in Washington; people who have contracted the disease apparently have come into direct contract with pigs at local fairs.

Patients have their choice of the regular flu vaccine or a nasal application that's available to people 2 to 49 years of age.

There's also a high-dose vaccine for people 65 years of age and older, and a shot with a much smaller needle than the regular vaccine.