With an apparently low mortality rate, you may be asking "why is it so important to make a swine flu vaccine?" I was asking the same thing. Quite frankly, the swine flu just doesn't appear to be a very dangerous illness. It hasn't swept across the country and wiped out 1/2, 1/3 or even 1/4 of the population in any given area. We can also assume at this point that the number of cases is much larger than the recorded number of confirmed cases-- thus the mortality rate is even lower than it appears.

The officials argue that the virus can easily mutate, perhaps by conjugating with the seasonal flu virus in the southern hemisphere. If it does mutate, given that we "don't know anything about this strain" it could prove fatal.

HOGWASH.

Even so, when we get that brand-spankin' new vaccine on the markets you can bet that your government (especially in the US) will want you to get vaccinated. It's just the smart, well-researched, sciencey thing to do, right?

Think again.

I'm sure you remember the two-week media panicFEST in April when the swine flu first hit the streets. Boy, wasn't that exciting? People were beside themselves in fear.

We've reached something of a lull in the past two months, but energy is building again as companies race to create the "life-saving" swine flu vaccine. Sensational headlines are swarming side-by-side with evolving news of vaccine production. ABC News in Austrailia is calling the H1N1 virus "deadly," even though government officials acknowledge that most who get the flu recover readily with no lingering effects.

The LA Times warns that 1 million in the U.S. have already contracted the virus. Considering that most of these people have recovered-- that means lifelong immunity to H1N1 and far better immunity to upcoming variations than can be offered by any impromptu vaccine.

I can't wait to see the upcoming slander against H1N1. Look, just because its new around here doesn't mean we have to be rude and suspicious. Whatever happened to hospitality?

What you really need to know is that the H1N1 virus is here and it's here to stay. This is good news. This apparently more benign viral mutation is our immune system's chance to be exposed to an early strain that may eventually result in a less-friendly flu strain down the road. Scrambling to "protect" ourselves from this safer version of the flu means giving up that chance for natural immunity and ultimately being vulnerable to a more malicious mutation after vaccine immunity wears off. (Vaccine immunity does wear off, in all cases. It's just a matter of time, and it's hard to tell exactly how much time even for those vaccines that have been in circulation for years.)

Natural immunity is good for the global population. Natural immunity is a brilliant design of God, or evolution, or whatever natural design process you put your faith in. We will never outsmart God or nature. Ever.

You should also know what your government's plans are for vaccine distribution. Whether you want the vaccination or don't want a needle within 100 yards of you, you need to know your rights. In the U.S. check out State Pandemic Plans if you are in the states to see what authority your state has granted itself for issuing mandatory vaccination, and to see the protocol for distribution.