It’s cloudy. It’s rainy. It’s just plain cold out. This time of year, the weather in DeKalb is all these dreary things. It’s also the start of the flu season, and that’s not something to just blow off.

It’d be nice if the NIU campus were located somewhere in the Southwest where we didn’t have to worry about this sort of thing. Much to my regret, it is not. That’s why we all have to prepare ourselves to fight the oncoming slew of sickness.

According to the Center for Disease Control’s Web site, there’s a few basic things we can all do.

The CDC suggests avoiding contact with people who are sick, and on the flip-side try not to be grabby when you are sick yourself. It’s also suggested a person wash his or her hands often and cover the mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing to keep the rest of us from getting your sickness.

The CDC also gives a suggestion which I know you’ll all love; “If possible, stay home from work, school and errands when you are sick. You will help prevent others from catching your illness.”

If possible? This is college. It’s always possible. If your professor asks you why you missed your final, just say “Because the CDC told me so.” Your professor will certainly be understanding.

These are all useful tips to help avoid catching the flu, and getting out of class as well. However, there is one precaution which is the best prevention of the flu – the yearly flu shot.

Starting today, everyone is eligible to get a flu shot and this year there is no excuse not to.

In the past few years many people either could not, or chose not to get a flu shot because of vaccine shortages. However, there is no such suggestion by the CDC this year.

As reported in the Northern Star last week, starting today the Health Services Center will start offering flu vaccines for $15 to all students who have paid their general health care fee. The DeKalb County Health Department will also be offering the vaccine starting Thursday, and every Thursday after until the end of the flu season, for $25.

There is absolutely no reason to not go to one of these facilities.

The walk from the residence halls to Health Services may be a long one, and the drive to the DeKalb County Health Department, well, that’s a regular road trip. It’s worth it.

For far too many people, getting a flu shot is just an inconvenience, or at best an item at the bottom of the list of things to do.

The 30 minutes it’d take out of your day’s nap is surely worth the insurance of your health for the entire season, isn’t it?

Besides the ever-so-long process required for the quick and easy shot is the aura of invincibility most college students feel surrounds them.

It’s the same aura that makes us think we can stay up studying for four nights straight or that we can start drinking at 5 a.m. and still be OK to go to a football game 10 hours later.

This false sense of invincibility shouldn’t keep you from getting out of the house and getting your flu shot.

An estimated 5 to 20 percent of the country will get the flu this season, according to the CDC. Nearly a quarter of a million people will be hospitalized with flu complications and 36,000 people will die from the flu.

Those numbers are big enough for me to swallow my “It can’t happen to me” pride and head to Health Services.

This isn’t the bird flu. This isn’t SARS. This is your average, everyday flu. That doesn’t mean it’s something to take lightly. It’s a serious virus which will affect nearly one in five people.

Luckily, there’s a simple, easy and cheap way to prevent it.

Get off your butt, swallow your pride and go get a flu shot. If you come early enough you might even see me in there. I’ll be the one asking for two, just in case.

Columns reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of the Northern Star staff.