This flu hits the young especially hard.  Those of us who are older have a relative immunity, and it's unusual for us to become seriously ill - unless they have serious health troubles, like emphysema or chemotherapy.

But children, teens, and young adults are susceptible to a serious respiratory infection.  The child who died, a toddler, was healthy two days before, and the day before was at a wedding.  Then on Sunday she died from her disease.

The first shipments of vaccine are arriving, and more will be coming weekly.  First in line are pregnant women (influenza H1N1 poses a real risk to the fetus, but more, pregnant women are several times more likely to die from the disease than others of the same age), and health care workers (to keep us from giving it to others).

Young children (over six months) are next in line, as are younger people with serious health issues.  Older children and teenagers, and adults with serious health troubles, come next.  We don't recommend the vaccine for older adults unless they are particularly susceptible.

The vaccine looks to be safe.  Some common concerns, spread by press that is anxious to create sensation, are without basis.  These include:

*    Is the vaccine adequately tested?  Yes - it's just the same as the vaccine made every year, made by the same technique that has been safe for years.  It's made by the exact same methods that are used for this fall's seasonal flu vaccine.  The only reason it's a separate vaccine is that, when the seasonal vaccine was being formulated, H1N1 hadn't been identified.

*    What about mercury?  The pediatric single-dose vials have no mercury.  The multi-dose vials have 25 micrograms (25 millionths of a gram) of mercury per dose - in a form that is pretty dormant in the body, and essentially doesn't get into the brain.  This is less than the mercury in three ounces of white tuna, whose mercury is much more prone to get into the brain.

*    Will there be a risk of Guillan-Barre?  After the 1976 swine flu vaccine, there was an increased rate of Guillan-Barre, a condition that causes damage to the nerves to the muscles and can lead to paralysis.  Since then, there has been a marked improvement in the purity of the vaccine.  We haven't seen that sort of problem with flu shots since.  It's important to understand that people get Guillan-Barre after viral illnesses, and there is a small risk for each of us every time we get a cold.  So there will be cases of Guillan-Barre among people who get the shot, but it won't be any more common than among those who don't get the shot.  Unfortunately, the press is likely to play up any cases that occur, and make it sound like the vaccine is responsible.

But don't forget the basics of protecting kids (and adults) from this virus - avoiding people who have the virus until they are fever-free for 24 hours without using fever medications, frequent hand washing, and the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers.  If you have to be around people with the flu, use an N95 filter mask.  These can be purchased at Nelson's Agricenter for about $5.  They should be fitted tightly, so all air goes through (and not around) the mask.

The antiviral Tamiflu is available in short supply, and can be used for people who are at high risk who get sick, or to prevent the disease in the vulnerable who have a known exposure.  For example, I treated a 2 month old premature baby who was exposed to the flu, and an older woman who was very seriously ill, who had emphysema, pneumonia, and heart disease.