As the H1N1 flu vaccine trickles into the Kansas City area, there&rsquo;s a central point worth repeating: It&rsquo;s been tested and it appears to be safe.</p><p>Despite the Internet hullabaloo, the panicky chat and the opinion polls that show folks are leery of just what&rsquo;s in those doses, the swine flu vaccine remains an important weapon in combating a very nasty virus.</p><p>There is a concern about the speed with which the vaccine is reaching the area; Missouri Congressman Roy Blunt last week blamed cumbersome regulations.</p><p>Still, officials had a fairly short time period over this past summer to put together a virus and ramp up production. Health experts think it will start arriving in larger amounts, and soon.</p><p>The U.S. ordered 250 million doses, the first of which came in early October. By last week, 11 million had been shipped, including about 91,000 doses to Kansas and 174,000 to Missouri.</p><p>The Centers for Disease Control notes that the rest are on the way, that the vaccine is safe and that citizens should consider taking it. In particular, the health watchdog wants the vaccine to first go to pregnant women, people 6 months to 24 years old, caretakers for infants, health care workers, and people 25 to 64 years old with underlying health problems.</p><p>In recent weeks, the number of deaths attributed to flu or to pneumonia (which piggybacks on the flu) has been higher than expected. Hospital admissions have has been higher than expected, too. And right now, the flu is considered &ldquo;widespread&rdquo; in 46 states, including Kansas and Missouri.</p><p>It may seem trite, but the best defense against getting the flu is to wash your hands and cover your mouth when coughing.</p><p>However, health officials add, the vaccine can also help.</p><p>It&rsquo;s expected to have about the same safety record as regular, seasonal flu vaccines, which have been used by hundreds of millions of Americans. Despite concerns on the Internet, the Centers for Disease Control notes that the U.S. vaccine will not contain adjuvants, which are ingredients that stimulate immune responses to vaccines. As for the preservative thimerosal, it will be in some multi-dose batches, but not in single-dose batches, and the CDC notes it has never actually been shown to be dangerous.</p><p>Beyond that, experts seriously doubt whether there is even a minute association between a 1976 swine flu vaccine and an increased likelihood of Guillain-Barr&eacute; syndrome, in which the body damages its own nerve cells.</p><p>In the end, these fears are the equivalent of Americans who worry about terrorism but not the far more likely causes of death such as smoking, overeating and driving. This flu is to be feared, not the vaccine.