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When people feel sick, they might say they have a "touch of the flu."

But more often than not what they're experiencing is "just the common cold," said state epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park.

When people come down with genuine influenza, the run-of-the-mill seasonal variety or the now infamous H1N1 variety, it's not something to be taken lightly, even by normally healthy people.

"They're pretty miserable through the process," she said in an interview Thursday. "It doesn't mean anything to them until it hits home."

Flu symptoms usually include high fever, headache, tiredness, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, diarrhea and vomiting.

For the more vulnerable people, such as the elderly or those with underlying chronic health conditions, a bout with the flu can be more than an inconvenience. It can be deadly.

Park recommended everyone - healthy or vulnerable, young or old - get a flu vaccination early in what's now the beginning of the annual flu season.

The reason to act quickly is simple: A flu vaccination takes time to work. One doesn't get a flu shot at a doctor's office and walk out immune from the disease.

A flu shot injects a protein of the virus into a person whose body is then alerted to a foreign infection. That triggers the body's immune system to build up a defense for the next time the disease pays a visit. But it takes at least two weeks for the body to build up a sufficient defense against a new strain of the flu virus, Park said. And it takes even longer - four to six weeks - to reach the peak of immunity.

Park said people sometimes get exposed to a flu virus around the time they receive a vaccination. Then, when they get sick, they think the flu shot made them ill. But what actually happened was that they became infected with the flu before their bodies had enough time to build a sufficient immune defense.

Now, the only vaccination available is for the seasonal flu. It is not as great a concern as the novel H1N1 virus because the seasonal flu has been circulating for a while and most people have had some level of exposure and therefore some resistance to it.

Nevertheless, people should still get vaccinated annually to protect themselves and the people they come in contact with, she said. Annual flu shots are recommended because the flu virus morphs quickly, and last year's immunity might not be good enough to fend off this year's flu.

People tend to be complacent about seasonal flu, even though it kills 36,000 people in the United States annually, Park said.

She said there should be no problem obtaining vaccinations for seasonal flu, the injections are readily available at doctors' offices and clinics, and in programs such as "Stop Flu In School."

Manufacturers have had ample time to prepare and distribute vaccinations for seasonal flu, but for the H1N1 virus, "they're playing catch-up right now; they're in the process of production," she said.

The new virus is of particular concern because "we're all like babies to the novel H1N1 virus," Park said. "It's novel because it's new. . . . Our immune systems are naive to the new virus. It doesn't know how to fight it off very well."

The H1N1 vaccine should be available beginning in mid-October, with some early batches perhaps coming in as early as late this month, Park said.

"It's not available so don't look for it," she said, adding it's not available anywhere in the United States, except in some clinical trials. Eventually, as production of the vaccine continues, there will be enough vaccines for everyone who wants one.

For people who dislike immunization shots, there's also the option of getting a nasal spray, she said.

Aside from being inoculated with a spray or shot, people also should remember to practice common sense safeguards against getting sick: washing hands frequently, coughing and sneezing away from people around you, and staying home when sick, Park said.

People also should remember to take care of themselves - get sufficient sleep, don't smoke or drink alcohol excessively, exercise and eat a healthy diet - all of which help keep diseases such as influenza in check.

The immediate goal for public health officials, however, is to get "as many people as possible vaccinated who want to be vaccinated," she said.

Public health officials know they can't expect to eliminate the flu, but they do try to slow it down and keep it to manageable levels, she said.

On Wednesday, the state did a mock exercise to distribute anti-viral medication to all Neighbor Islands and prepare hospitals and community health centers for emergency distribution. On Thursday, Park said the exercise was a success, with courses of real anti-viral flu medication positioned on Molokai and Lanai.

She said anti-viral medication treats patients who've already come down with the flu. She emphasized the medication is not as effective as preventing infection with a vaccine.

* Brian Perry can be reached at citydesk@mauinews.com.