There’s a new option of flu vaccination this season. Here’s what you need to know

(CNN) - A new flu vaccine using mRNA technology is now approved for use in the United States, giving people another option to protect against the influenza virus.

The vaccine, called mFlusiva, is the first and only flu vaccine to use mRNA technology, according to Kawsar Talaat of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

“The new vaccine provides a little bit of the genetic material of the influenza virus that allows our cells to make some of the influenza proteins, and allows us to develop an immune response to that,” Talaat said.

How the vaccine works

The vaccine builds on mRNA technology used in many COVID-19 vaccinations and is given as a shot. It has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for people ages 50 and older.

“However, for people 65 years and older, they have multiple choices of enhanced vaccines, so high dose vaccine, adjuvanted vaccine and the mRNA vaccine,” Talaat said.

Other flu vaccine options

Other traditional flu vaccine options remain available based on age. Standard-dose vaccination and an egg-free, cell-based influenza shot are approved for people ages 6 months and older.

A recombinant flu shot, also egg-free and made without influenza viruses, is available for people ages 9 and older.

A flu vaccine nasal spray called FluMist is available for those ages 2 to 49. It contains weakened live influenza viruses, so it is not recommended for anyone pregnant, immunocompromised or with certain medical conditions.

Faster strain selection

One limit to the traditional flu vaccine platform is that scientists must select which virus strain to include about six months before the shots are administered. Traditional vaccines are manufactured by growing the influenza virus in cells or chicken eggs.

Because the virus is constantly mutating and mRNA vaccines can be manufactured more quickly, strain selection for mRNA vaccines can happen closer to the start of flu season.

Moderna, the mRNA vaccine manufacturer, says the shot is now available at more than 13,000 locations across the U.S., including select Walgreens and CVS pharmacies in certain areas.

U.S. flu season typically ramps up in October, with cases often peaking between December and February. Multiple medical groups say vaccination is the best protection against severe disease.