You know the drill by now: Get a flu shot. Wash your hands frequently. Keep your kids home from school if they're sick.
But the severity and spread of the flu this season also underscores the importance of health care workers getting flu shots, which has been a topic of debate in Colorado.
Last year, the Colorado Board of Health passed a rule requiring health care facilities to have 90 percent of their workers immunized by the end of 2014.
As it so happens, new federal rules will require employee immunization rates to be reported, and that data will be used to determine Medicare and Medicaid payments in 2015.
One way or another, health care workers will have to get flu shots, and they should.
The recent news about the aggressive spread of the flu this season, and how it has brought healthy people to their knees, shows the wisdom of such preventive measures.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is calling this flu outbreak potentially the worst in a decade.
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino declared a public health emergency in his city on Wednesday because of the growing flu outbreak. Already, 700 Boston residents have confirmed cases of the flu. In contrast, last year only 70 cases were confirmed.
To make things worse, this year's early and potentially severe outbreak has resulted in shortages of the flu vaccine and Tamiflu, which is used to slow or stop flu symptoms in children who have the virus.
Shortages of the vaccine also are affecting the Denver metro area, according to a Post story.
Kaiser Permanente Colorado, which serves 535,000 Coloradans, had experienced vaccine shortages earlier in the week, but had restocked supplies by Thursday.
There are anecdotal reports of other shortages around Colorado, so it may take some searching to find the flu vaccine, but those are calls worth making.
While the shot is not a guarantee of avoiding illness -- it's reportedly about 62 percent effective against the circulating strains -- it's better than taking your chances.
Also, keep in mind those who are vaccinated and still get sick tend to have milder symptoms.
Along with medical intervention, public awareness and basic precautions are in order. If you're sick or think you're coming down with the flu, stay home.
And certainly don't visit places where you might expose vulnerable people to the virus, such as hospital wards or nursing homes.
Common sense can go a long way in tamping down the spread of influenza.