Penn State students trying to get through the flu season without getting ill do not necessarily need to get the flu shot.

Taking simple precautions can ward off illness. And this late in the flu season a flu shot may be impossible to com e by anyway.

"We're basically out of flu vaccine," said Ellen Nagy, Marketing Manager, University Health Services.

The United States flu season is from October to May, with five to 20% of the population developing the flu. More than 200,000 Americans a year are hospitalized because of the flu and about 36,000 die, according to the CDC.

Washing one's hands, covering one's mouth when coughing, and avoiding others who are sick are ways avoid getting and spreading the flu, Nagy said. Also, getting enough sleep and eating well will help to ward it off.

"The hand washing is really the most important piece of that," Nagy said.

Should simple precautions fail to foil the flu, oral medications may be available.

When deciding whether or not to seek medical help and medication, students can associate fever, body aches, cold-like symptoms, and tiredness with the flu, said Evan Pattishall, Clinical Director, University Health Services.

"There's two kinds of flu that infect humans and that's influenza A virus and influenza B virus. For influenza A virus there are anti-viral medications that are effective for treatment and prevention. For influenza B virus there are not anti-viral medications which are effective," Pattishall said.

Currently, the flu is mostly in the western United States. Students returning to Penn State after spending break out there may be more likely to be bringing the flu back with them than students who spent break elsewhere.

"The likelihood of their returning with the flu depends on where they spent their vacation. If they're returning from the western part of the United States it's more likely that they would have encountered the flu than if they spent their break in the eastern United States," Pattishall said.

While the flu has not fully spread east yet, it is expected to affect Pennsylvania this season in much the same way it did last season, which ranked as a flu season of average severity.

"In Pennsylvania it seems to be starting later but is predicted to be about the same as last year," Pattishall said.