With all the terrifying and tragic news stories, you may feel like this season's virus is particularly deadly. Not so, says Dr. Hendrix. While it is severe - one of the most widespread flu seasons in years - that doesn't necessarily mean a higher risk of complications or death. "The CDC (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) predicted this would be a severe season, and they were right," says Dr. Hendrix. "Severity is the number of people falling ill, but there hasn't been a higher rate of hospitalizations or mortality." Highly publicized cases of deaths, particularly among young and healthy people, can amplify that perception. In reality, according to Dr. Hendrix, the rates of hospitalizations and deaths are actually on par with past flu seasons.