Metro> Comment
Is flu jab more trouble than it's worth?
By Alexandra Leyton (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-11 11:18

The H1N1 swine flu virus is here and with it has come the miracle vaccine supposed to save the world.

When the flu first broke out, the media announced the importance of getting the jab in order to make sure we would all be safe. However, there seems to be a debate on the safety of the vaccine, especially in the foreign media.

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A Google search of "swine flu jab, safety" turns up over 1 million results. Some articles suggest the vaccine is safe and encourage people to take a flu shot, but the overwhelming majority paint a rather dismal picture with headlines such as, "Swine flu jab linked to killer nerve disease: Leaked letter reveals", and "Boy rushed to hospital after swine flu jab".

So who should I believe? I know the media in the West tend to play up the negative aspects of life, but after going through those Web pages I have begun to doubt if I really need it.

Last week I was given a privileged opportunity by my employer to have the jab but I chickened out at the last moment.

Better safe than sorry, right? My decision not to take the jab was reinforced after a friend in the UK sent me a YouTube clip of a girl who was paralyzed following her shot.

Another friend of mine, Eskil, is not as skeptical as me, however, because he is currently trying to organize the distribution of jabs to foreigners in a local university. What is strange is that he won't have one either.

"This flu is not worse than any other flu and has not caused any more deaths," he said.

He added that neither of us belonged to an "at-risk" group such as children, senior citizens or people suffering from chronic diseases.

For now, anyway, I believe he is probably right and don't really need the jab. After all, there's nothing to worry about, is there?