Thousands of people will die from influenza and related complications this year and millions more will suffer.

Influenza, frequently referred to as the flu, is an acute, viral, respiratory infection that affects up to 20 percent of Americans each year. One in every 1,000 to 2,000 people who develop the flu will die of associated complications. Sadly, most of these infections could be prevented by simple administration of the flu vaccine. Up to 90 percent effective, the flu vaccine is now available by infection or intranasal administration through your family physician or local pharmacist. It’s fast, easy and convenient, and, with the flu season just around the corner, why wait?

People often mistake the flu for a common cold. While they are both viral, respiratory infections, their similarities may stop there. A cold is usually mild and frequently begins as a sore scratchy throat followed by sneezing, coughing, a stuffy or runny nose and sometimes a low-grade fever in children. Flu symptoms are much more severe and are characterized by a sudden onset of headache with body aches, excessive fatigue and a fever up to 104 degrees. Respiratory symptoms include a dry cough and a sore throat.

Contrary to popular belief, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea do not commonly accompany the flu in adults – only in children. However, these symptoms may be troublesome in children, causing serious complications including dehydration.

In adults, pneumonia is the most common and most deadly flu complication. In fact, pneumonia is responsible for over 400,000 hospitalizations annually and is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.

People at high risk for developing complications should get a flu shot each year. These individuals include anyone over the age of 50, all pregnant women, all children 6 to 23 months of age, anyone residing in a long-term care facility and anyone between the ages of 2 and 18 on chronic aspirin therapy or with any of the following chronic illnesses: emphysema, asthma, congestive hart failure, heart abnormalities, post heart attack, diabetes, kidney disease, sickle cell disease, liver disease, alcoholism, HIV infection and other diseases as determined by a health care professional.

Anyone over age 2 with any of the above diseases who has not yet received the pneumoccocal vaccine is encouraged to do so.

Furthermore, all adults over age 65 should take the pneumococcal vaccine. This immunization can be given at the same time as the influenza shot but in a different injection site. The pneumococcal vaccine is only given once or twice in a lifetime. Vaccinating these high-risk groups could greatly decrease the number of flu and pneumonia deaths each year.

Another way to protect high-risk groups is to vaccinate their personal contacts, especially family members. It is also recommended that all health care professionals and people working in health care or long-term care facilities, police officers, firefighters, anyone living or working in crowded conditions, school-aged children, children in day care, and parents and caregivers of all children between ages 0 and 23 months get the flu shot annually.

Many people refrain from getting the flu shot because they believe the shot could give them the flu. This is a popular but nasty myth. The flu shot is made with inactivated or killed virus. Because the virus has been inactivated, it is incapable of making you sick. To the body, influenza virus looks the same – living or dead – so after you get the flu shot, your body’s defense kicks in. The next time you are exposed to that virus, your body has seen it before and works quickly to eradicate it before you develop symptoms.