Only a portion of those who should get flu shots each year actually do, including just one in five babies and toddlers, health officials said Wednesday.

But the stars may be lining up for a better year than usual. A record supply of vaccine, up to 132 million doses, is expected. And the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that FluMist, the nasal spray vaccine previously restricted to those ages 5-49, can be used in healthy kids as young as 2.

"This is very good news," said Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, of the FDA's announcement. "It gives us another tool for protecting children."

CDC vaccine expert Jeanne Santoli reported that during the 2005-06 flu season, immunization rates were low in all groups for whom flu vaccine is recommended, including:

• People with chronic health conditions ages 18-49 — 31 percent.

• People ages 50-64 — 37 percent.

• People 65 and older — 69 percent.

Health officials are making a push to boost vaccine rates and expand the traditional immunization season throughout the winter months. Santoli urged doctors to start vaccinating patients as soon as they can and to "use opportunities in December, January and beyond in order to protect Americans."

At a briefing sponsored by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases and other medical and health advocacy groups, health experts also encouraged wider use of antiviral drugs to treat or prevent flu, and the pneumococcal vaccine to prevent bacterial pneumonia, a common complication of flu. Pneumonia can be dangerous, especially in people 65 and older or anyone with chronic health problems. "When combined with influenza, this is the ehot.

Vaccine rates vary by state, but the CDC reported that no state had more than 40 percent of children fully immunized.

One reason is that parents don't always take flu seriously, said Jay Berkelhamer, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. "So many parents think of influenza as "just the flu,' or a 24-hour bug or just a bad cold that can be treated with chicken soup or bed rest," he said. But children can die of influenza. They also can spread it to other vulnerable family members.

The CDC says children 6 months to 5 years, or those of any age who have medical conditions such as asthma or diabetes, should be immunized. Parents, siblings and others also should be vaccinated, especially those near babies under 6 months of age, for whom there is no vaccine.