Perhaps it's the widespread use of the Internet, where rumors and distortions about many health issues have a ready audience that can quickly spread them throughout the world. Or maybe it's just a general mistrust of the federal government or health care providers.

Whatever the reason, there's no mistaking the fact that many Americans are leery about the prospect of being vaccinated against the swine flu. A recent Associated Press-GfK poll found that only about half of Americans are planning to get the vaccine. The majority of those are senior citizens, who are the least likely to get the H1N1 virus.

Another poll by the University of Michigan found that only 40 percent of parents wanted to get their children inoculated, even though children are one of the target groups for the vaccine.

Concerned, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has dispatched swine flu "mythbusters" across the nation to correct rumors and misconceptions about the virus and the vaccine.

It's every citizen's right to determine if he or she (or their children) will be immunized against swine flu. But based on the assessments of health experts, we've seen no reasonable argument against taking the vaccine.

As CDC Director Thomas Frieden noted, swine flu isn't a mild disease, but one that "can knock you out for a day or two or three" and can, for some, be fatal.

According to the World Health Organization, this year's swine flu pandemic has already sickened more than 340,000 people worldwide, killing at least 4,100.

Some critics claim the new vaccine was rushed into production, with the manufacturers cutting corners to make it quickly available. But Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that charge is false.

"The H1N1 vaccine is made in exactly the same way, using the same materials, the same companies, the same process as the seasonal flu vaccine we make every single year and give to tens and tens of millions of people," Fauci said.

Last week, the World Health Organization affirmed the safety of the swine flu vaccine. Spokesman Gregory Hartl told The Associated Press, "The vaccine is the single most important tool that we have against influenza. For certain groups such as health care workers, it's doubly important to get vaccinated because health care workers have the ability to protect both themselves and to protect others by getting vaccinated."

In Wyoming, last week health care workers began taking the first doses of the H1N1 vaccine that arrived. As the vaccine becomes available to the public, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that these target groups receive the vaccine: pregnant women, caregivers of children younger than 6 months, children ages 6 months through 24 years of age, and adults with medical conditions associated with a higher risk of complications from influenza.

A study published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association noted that Canadians who either died of swine flu or were placed in intensive care were relatively young, healthy women whose condition deteriorated quickly. Patients who became severely ill required stays in the intensive care unit that lasted an average of 12 days.

We understand some people are worried about the risk of taking the vaccine. But they also should consider the risks associated with not taking it.