This fall, like every other, I try to game the flu season. My goal, always, is to get my vaccine at just the right moment: before the first cases pop up, yet late enough so that its protective effects last beyond the holidays and well into January or February, when infections tend to peak. That typically means scheduling my appointment for sometime in mid- to late October.

This year, the virus snuck up on me.

The U.S. is experiencing an unusually early flu season, one that, in another twist, started to pick up steam on the West Coast rather than following its more typical path from southern states north. Not only is that leaving many people unprepared, but early indications suggest it could be another year when our........

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