Cold and flu medicine purchases up nearly 22% from last year, Walgreens data shows

Walgreens is already seeing an early-season bump in cold and flu-related sales, according to data first viewed by ABC News. 

Purchases of cold and flu medications are up 21.7% compared to the same time last year, and cough drops are up 16.6%. 

Numbers from the company from past seasons also show that activity is expected to rapidly increase in the weeks ahead. Recent history indicates flu activity starts increasing around the end of September and then ramps up in December, according to Walgreens.

The data also suggest people may wait too long to get vaccinated with the seasonal flu shot. 

Last season, one week after New York and Texas reached high levels of flu activity, vaccination rates increased by 68% and 54%, respectively, according to Walgreens.

However, immunity from the shots takes about two weeks to build, meaning those who waited may have missed out on protection during the surge. 

Flu shots are recommended for everyone over the age of 6 months. Older adults over age 65 may be eligible for a higher-dose version. 

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The seasonal flu vaccine protects against three viruses predicted to circulate during flu season: Type A (H1N1) virus, Type A(H3N2) virus, and Type B/Victoria virus.

It comes as signals suggest flu season may have arrived a few weeks earlier this year. New data published Thursday shows flu rates are off to their earliest start in the last five years. Rates are hitting level seven weeks earlier than they did in the past two seasons. 

Epic Research is an arm of Epic, which manages a majority of electronic health records across the U.S.

The new data shows that flu rates -- diagnosis or positive test -- reached 140 per 100,000 patients in the week of Sept. 13.

In the past two seasons, the rate was not reached until early November, roughly seven weeks later than this season. The current rates are the highest mid-September level in the last five years. Going further back into 2020 and 2021, there was minimal flu activity, given that COVID was dominating illnesses.