You can scarcely open a newspaper, look at a Web site, listen to a radio or television news broadcast, or even pass by a stranger on the street without hearing some deeply entrenched diatribe about the H1N1 virus and whether or not its corresponding vaccine is safe. In fact, a search on the term H1N1 vaccine yields more than 674,000 results in .28 seconds. Listen, I don’t mind telling you that, as a mother, I’m nearly paralyzed with fear over the H1N1 pandemic — especially upon consideration of some of the statistics out there. For instance, FOX News recently reported that, in the U.S. (as of mid-October): l 22 million people have caught H1N1 l 3,900 people have already died from H1N1 (this is three times higher than the rate expected) l Typically 35,000 people die from the flu every year, the majority of whom are senior citizens, but H1N1 is claiming the lives of teens and children among its victims All this and flu season hasn’t even officially begun yet.