I haven't come across people who trust the swine flu vaccine.

When did we stop trusting vaccines?

I've only come across a few people who've said categorically that they're going to get the swine flu vaccine.

(Mind you, I haven't asked a lot of people - so this is very small sample. Still, with the eradication of small pox and other old fashioned diseases, you'd think people would WANT to get vaccinated from swine flu.)

Part of this distrust toward vaccines has been because of the faulty science of the purported link to autism.

People also say stuff like, "I never get sick and as soon as I got the flu shot, I caught the flu." They're suggesting that the flu shot either gave them the flu or made them more susceptible to the flu.

A few weeks back my Mom sent me an article that basically said the scientists developing the vaccine are bumbling idiots who have no idea what they're doing.

And you can read lots of articles that say things like, "The swine flu vaccine in the 1970s killed more people than the flu itself."

Okay, but how many people did it save?

No vaccine is 100% effective. And all vaccines carry risks. But - the benefits far, far outweigh the risks. Or so I'm told.

I don't know anyone who has smallpox.