(GREENSBORO) -- Prevention is the key message health providers want to deliver as the first two deaths in North Carolina were reported this season from the Flu.

Epidemiologist Nicole Lee noted that last year almost half of the people in North Carolina did not get a flu shot.

"[The deaths] Just reinforce the importance of vaccination and realizing that flu is unpredictable so it is important that we prepare."

Flu vaccine is especially recommended for pregnant women, people with chronic diseases, the very young children, and the elderly.