Some people get very sick. Each year, about 130,000 people go to a hospital with the flu, and 20,000 people die because of the flu and complications. The flu may cause fever, cough, sore throat, a runny or a stuffy nose, headache, muscle aches and tiredness.
Some people describe the flu as being like the worst cold of their life.
Most people feel better after 1 or 2 weeks. But for some people, the flu leads to serious, even life-threatening diseases, like pneumonia. If you are in any of these groups, you should probably get the flu vaccine every year. Other people should also get the vaccine because they might spread the flu to high-risk people. You should get the vaccine if you work in a long-term care facility.