Did you know between 3,000 and 50,000 people die from the flu each year in the United States? There are four key things you can do to protect yourself and your loved ones, say the experts: avoid people who are sick; get the vaccine early in the flu season; try not to touch your nose, eyes and mouth with your hands; and wash your hands. While most of us can’t realistically avoid every sick person, we can easily wash our hands.