Rounds of influenza shots for this coming flu season are being distributed to U.S. military medical clinics in Europe, meaning young children and older adults can start rolling up their sleeves.

Thousands of doses of the nasal vaccine FluMist have been available for the past month, according to the European Regional Medical Command.

Over the last few years, the method has become a popular way to inoculate eligible people, particularly among kids and adults under 50.

Last week, the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Center — Europe began receiving and shipping out to military health facilities the injectable version, said Steve Davis, spokesman for ERMC. All of the shipments should be received this week.

"They are here," Davis said. "What we are doing is advising people to contact their clinic."

The traditional needle-in-the-arm method should apply to young children, age 6 months to 23 months, and adults 49 and over, said Phillip Tegtmeier, an ERMC spokesman. Others in the category include pregnant women and people with certain allergies.

Tegtmeier said clinics in Vicenza and Livorno, Italy, which are at the end of the supply line, would receive their injectable doses of the vaccine later this week.

The Defense Department has purchased 3.5 million doses for the 2008-09 influenza season, according to Davis. Of that amount, 1.9 million doses are of the injectable variety, either Fluzone or Pediatric Fluzone.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that about 36,000 people in the United States die from influenza each year. It also is the leading cause of hospitalization among children, with respect to preventable diseases.

ERMC’s goal this year is to vaccinate 95 percent of its population, according to a recent news release.

For more information on influenza vaccination guidelines, go to the CDC Web site at: www.cdc.gov/flu/.