Anyone else find it strange that there seems to be at least as much panic and fear of the H1N1 vaccine as there is of the virus itself?

Granted, people should not be panicking over either of these two, but misinformation and fear about the former has the potential to make the latter a much more dangerous situation than it needs to be.

The democratization of knowledge that the Internet has enabled can be a great thing. Unfortunately, it’s becoming more and more evident that many people have a hard time distinguishing uninformed opinions and established scientific fact.

Sure, scepticism is generally healthy, but not when distrust of the establishment leads people to fall for quackery and make dangerous choices for their children and themselves, choices which also endanger society as a whole.

We’re talking about the anti-vaccine paranoia and hysteria that has ramped up over the past decade, in large part thanks to the efforts of former Playboy model and mediocre actress Jenny McCarthy.

McCarthy has convinced herself (and a disturbingly large segment of the population) that the mercury in childhood vaccines caused her child to develop autism. Since she’s relatively famous, she managed to get a large amount of media attention for her pet cause, which is one of the factors that has led to many people declaring that they’d rather get sick than get the vaccine.

In an effort to clear through some of the vaccine hysteria, let’s take a look at the most common myth-based fears.

1. Mercury-laced preservatives in vaccines cause autism and/or mercury poisoning.

When a child becomes ill, the natural reaction is to look for something or someone to blame.

Unfortunately, there is absolutely nothing linking vaccines and autism, and no credible science to back up the claim. The fact is that you ingest much more mercury in a tuna sandwich (not to mention the large doses found in some sushi) than you’ll get in a shot of the H1N1 vaccine. If the amount of mercury in vaccines were actually dangerous, we’d be seeing massive health problems, and at least one of the many studies would have shown at something.

2. The “adjuvant” added to the vaccine to boost effectiveness hasn’t been tested and/or is dangerous.

The adjuvant used in Canada is made out of shark liver oil (squalene), vitamin E (DL-alpha-tocopherol), and an emulsifier (polysorbate 80) used in ice cream. Doesn’t sound so scary when you ignore the chemical names for these compounds, eh?

Health Canada is quite convinced that it’s safe, and say that it’s been tested on 45,000 people around the world. The adjuvant makes the vaccine much more effective, which means that available stocks of the vaccine can be stretched a lot further, while providing even better protection.

3. Squalene in anthrax vaccines was what caused Gulf War Syndrome.

Once again, this is wishful thinking on the part of those afflicted.

Yes, a lot of noise was made about a possible connection, and many studies were done, and absolutely no link was found. If that doesn’t convince you, consider that squalene has been in over 22 million vaccines in Europe since 1997, with no problems. If you’re still dubious, consider that squalene occurs naturally in the human body – you can find it in the oils of your fingerprints.

4. I don’t need the H1N1 vaccine because I never get the flu, and I’m young, clean and healthy.

Unlike the normal flu, the only people who have immunity to H1N1 are actually those above the age of 65, many of whom were exposed to a similar previous outbreak.  

Yes, most cases of H1N1 in healthy people is relatively mild (in that you feel like you were hit by a truck, but you’re not on a respirator).

Unfortunately, unlike the normal flu, young healthy people are among those who are developing serious cases that threaten their life. Your past history with the traditional flu is no indication of how you’ll handle this one. And even if you’re immune system is awesome and you get a very mild case, you’re spreading the virus around, as well as giving it a host where it can happily mutate into a strain that could potentially be much more devastating.

Better to contain it now with a vaccine than let it flourish into something we have no hope of containing.

5. I’m pregnant, and don’t want to hurt my unborn child with this vaccine.

There are two important points that should be addressed here. First of all, pregnant women are 4 to 5 times more likely to develop serious symptoms from H1N1, which in itself should be enough to make you realize that vague fears about a vaccine are not equivalent to the very real risks of the illness.

Second of all, while the World Health Organization is currently recommending that pregnant women get the non-adjuvanted vaccine, this is because they’re being very cautious due to a lack of data on this group, not because there is any evidence whatsoever that there’s any danger.

In fact, WHO say that all data suggests that the adjuvanted version is completely safe, and that if the non-adjuvanted version is not available in your area, you’re better off getting the adjuvanted version of the vaccine than nothing.

Since posting this, the World Health Organization has revised their position on pregnant women taking the adjuvanted version of the H1N1 vaccine.

The studies are in, and they are now telling us that there is "no evidence of direct or indirect harmful effects on fertility, pregnancy, development of the embryo or fetus, birthing, or post-natal development", and that pregnant women should get whichever vaccine is available in their area. They also note that between 7 and 10 percent of H1N1 patients whose symptoms are serious enough to require hospitalization are pregnant women, which is why they're among the groups who should be getting the vaccine first. 

6. The vaccine is a government mind control program.

Simple solution: buy aluminium foil from corner store. Make helmet. Relax.