Four people have apparently died of the H1N1 vaccine in Sweden. Two elderly patients who had preexisting health conditions died just days after receiving the swine flu vaccine and two others who also suffered from health conditions. It has not been proven that the swine flu vaccine caused their deaths.

CBS medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton said, “In medicine we can never say with 100 percent certainty that anything is safe. There are always risks. You have to balance proposed risks versus proposed benefits, and the risk of this virus, we know is particularly high for younger people, including children. The risks of the vaccine, which you can never say are zero as all government health officials and scientists have told us are so low, they are (immeasurable).”

With the Swine Flu hysteria upon us, many people are just as concerned about the vaccination as the flu itself. Thus, many people have opted out of getting vaccinated because the drug was rolled out so fast, they are worried whether or not there are long-time risks and/or side effects from the vaccine that have yet to be discovered. People are of the opinion that if they do in fact contract the H1N1 virus, they will be able to treat the symptoms themselves.

Parents of young children are more concerned. Although the top concern are side effects to the H1N1 vaccine coupled with the fear that their children might get some other illness because of it.

In test groups for the swine flu vaccine shot, the most common side effects were localized problems at the injection site, including tenderness, pain, redness, swelling, and bruising. Other reactions reported, by less than half of those in the testing included headache, malaise, muscle pain, chills, nausea, fever, and vomiting.  Most the these reports were mild, with a few being moderate, and less than one percent being severe.

Think you may have come down with the H1N1 swine flu? Symptoms are a sudden fever and sudden cough and if you don’t have a fever, you probably don’t have the swine flu. Other symptoms include typical flu symptoms: headache, fatigue, sore throat, chills, aching muscles, joint pain, runny nose, sneezing, diarrhea or stomach upset.

If you are still concerned after checking your symptoms, you should call your doctor who may suggest a course of antiviral treatment, especially if you have health problems or are in a high-risk group.

Margaret Chan, director general of WHO, said this about the H1N1 virus “This virus has, clearly, a pandemic potential. It’s a completely novel virus” The new strain spreads quickly and efficiently from human to human. This particular variant is new and deadly mash-up of human virus, bird virus, and pig viruses. Scientists say it’s cause for concern because people are getting sick without any encounters with pigs. Young, healthy people are dying at a very unusual rate, a familiar sign of the deadliest flu epidemics.

What can you do to protect yourself?

Experts offer a a few suggestions:

Wash your hands often. Hand-washing with soap and water is the absolute best thing you can do if you’re going to go out into the world and interact with other human beings. The CDC estimates that 80 percent of all infections are spread by hands.

Keep your distance. In other words, stay away from other people if you’re sick or if you’re concerned that they may be infected. It may not be especially practical when you have to go to work, but isolation and avoidance reduce your chances of getting infected or infecting others.

Symptoms of Swine Flu

Swine flu symptoms are similar to regular flu. Fever, body aches, sore throat, cough, runny nose, vomiting, diarrhea, and lethargy. If you feel ill, seek medical attention. So far, it’s important to note, this swine flu is treatable and survivable. It’s resistant to two of four antiviral drugs approved for combating the flu, Symmetrel and Flumadine.

On a positive note – two newer antivirals – Tamiflu and Relenza – appear to work well to combat the swine flu.