It feels like pretty much every year medical experts say that it’s going to be an awful season for the flu. And this year is no exception. The dominant flu strain that’s circulating this year is something that’s been dubbed the “Aussie flu,” and it’s especially serious.

The Aussie flu (a.k.a. H3N2) got its name after causing several hospitalizations and deaths in Australia, which has its winter during our summer months. The country had more than 233,400 confirmed cases of the flu, which was more than double the number of cases it saw the year before, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. The paper also reports that 745 people with confirmed cases of the flu died in 2017, which is significantly higher than the five-year average of 176 flu deaths per year.

And, lucky us, the Aussie flu has made its way to America.

The ‘Aussie flu’ is just a fancy name for H3N2, a serious flu strain we’ve seen before.

This year, about 80 percent of confirmed flu cases so far are due to this strain of the flu, The New York Times reports. Last year, experts warned that H3N2 would cause a rough flu season, too. “H3N2 is a nastier virus than some of the other influenza viruses,” William Schaffner, M.D., an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, tells SELF. “We anticipate that there will be more healthy children and young adults who find themselves in the ER this year.”There isn’t really anything special about the symptoms of H3N2—they’re are the same as other strains of the flu. That means that if you’re infected, you might feel fever, chills, muscle aches, cough, congestion, a runny nose, headaches, nausea, vomiting, and fatigue, infectious disease expert Amesh A. Adalja, M.D., senior scholar at the John’s Hopkins Center for Health Security, tells SELF.

However, H3N2 cases tend to be more severe than other strains and people are more likely to develop serious complications, such as pneumonia and even death, he says. “This is a moderately severe flu strain,” Dr. Adalja says. “We’re seeing increasing cases in hospitals and increasing rates of death.”

The flu vaccine protects against several strains of the flu, but it’s not super effective against H3N2.

The flu vaccine changes from year to year to try to protect the general public against what doctors suspect will be the predominant flu strains of the season. This year’s vaccine targets an H1N1-like virus, a virus with a B/Victoria lineage, and an H3N2-like virus known as A/Hong Kong/4801/2014, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Given that H3N2 is on the list, it seems like you’d be good to go with this vaccine, but it’s not that simple. “Traditionally, vaccines don’t work quite as well against the H3N2 strain,” Dr. Schaffner says. When the H3N2 vaccine is made, the H3N2 part of the vaccine tends to mutate slightly, leaving people with some protection against the virus but not as much as you’d probably like, he explains. The flu vaccine was only 10 percent effective against H3N2 in Australia, but the CDC says that it will likely be 30 percent effective against the virus here.

You should definitely still get your flu shot.

No, getting the flu shot isn’t a guarantee that you won’t get the flu, and that kind of sucks. But experts still stress that you should get the vaccine. “The best prevention is still the influenza vaccine,” Dr. Adalja says. “Even though it’s not optimal, it’s still the best we’ve got.” The vaccine may even help reduce the severity of the Aussie flu, if you happen to catch it, Dr. Schaffner says. (By the way, if you haven’t gotten your flu vaccine yet, there’s still time given that season peaks in February, Dr. Adalja says.)

The flu isn’t easy to avoid, but you can do a lot by washing your hands carefully and often (especially after you visit high-traffic areas like malls and public transportation), using hand sanitizer, and trying to keep your distance from people who are coughing and sneezing, Dr. Schaffner says.

If you do get sick, it’s important to stay home for at least your first 24 hours after your fever wears off, the Mayo Clinic explains. “Don’t go to work or the gym—you’ll become a spreader,” Dr. Schaffner says. From there, most cases of the flu in healthy adults resolve on their own with adequate rest and liquids within a week or two.

But if your symptoms are particularly severe (e.g. you’re having difficulty breathing or persistent vomiting), or you’re at risk for complications due to your age or a chronic illness, call your doctor. You may be prescribed an antiviral drug like Tamiflu, which can make your infection less severe and shorter, Dr. Schaffner says. But those are at their most effective when taken in the first 48 hours of the infection, so don’t hesitate to get medical attention if you’re at risk.