The flu spreads via airborne, aerosolized droplets — meaning, when you sneeze, you infect everyone around you.

Staying home from work or school is the best way to contain a flu outbreak and help your peers who may be at higher risk than you. Here are some important statistics you may want to consider the following factors.

The U.S. population is around 316 million people. Influenza, aka the flu, kills about 50,000 people a year. While clearly none of us wants to be one of the 50,000, let me put it into further perspective so you can feel a bit more confident.

More than 1.3 million people die in car accidents every year. That doesn’t stop any of us from getting into a car daily. And we don’t have a vaccine to prevent car crashes, either. We just focus on creating better safety measures and learn to become more careful drivers.

The same holds true for the flu. Let’s focus on preventing it. We live in the 21st century, after all, and have made huge strides in individualized care, where prevention is what keeps us safe and healthy.

Leave the vaccines to those who need them or to the public health domain where people need them because they are lacking the facilities you have access to.