Writing a good headline is part art, part math. To sum up a major story in, ideally, five or six words – and to have those words travel across the length of a front page in a size that’s relative to the story without taking up half the page is easier said than done.

And, it is a special challenge when the story you’re headlining is a public safety concern; of course, I’m talking about the H1N1 flu. How to best couple the importance of getting vaccinated against the virus with a lack of hysteria-inducing histrionics? The media has already been blamed – and, in some cases, is publically accepting the blame – for families lining up before sunrise for an afternoon clinic in Toronto, for example, and people donning surgical masks in public. Big, melodramatic headlines may sell papers and make for riveting newscasts, but ultimately, they do little to inform the public.

At the Stratford clinics, citizens have been patient and in relatively good spirits. Children have been crying and impatient as they often are when having to wait for something they don’t understand, but the adults have taken it all in stride.

Hopefully, calm remains during this Friday’s clinic, if it’s not cancelled, or shortened, due to lack of vaccine.

Lately, there has been a backlash against mass vaccinations; they could cause autism in youngsters, and are filled with chemicals like formaldehyde and mercury that are potentially damaging to the mind and body, or are part of some government conspiracy to lull us into complacency.

For many – especially parents – this backlash has been greatly tempered by the death of 13-year-old Evan Frustraglio from the virus last week in Etobicoke. He wasn’t vaccinated. And, while death from H1N1 is rare, it is indeed the rarity that makes Evan’s passing so poignant.

Health care officials have been united in their pleas for people to get the H1N1 vaccine; just as it is a different flu season, it is a different vaccine. It is designed specifically for the virus, unlike the annual flu shot, which is more of a “best guess” cocktail. It’s effective, and, except for very rare cases (remember, drama sells), so far, quite safe. It’s only a matter of time, we’re assured, before the shot will be available for all.

Since there have been too many influenza-like illnesses reported to warrant lab confirmation, even if someone’s had the flu, vaccination can still possibly prevent a genuine case of H1N1. There are also societal benefits to receiving the vaccine; the more people who are vaccinated means that there are fewer travelling routes for the virus to infect more people, thus shortening the H1N1 flu season.

And, with the busy Christmas season soon upon us, coupled with plenty of travelling for winter holidays, the sooner we can stop this bug in its tracks, the better.

After all, what better headline to fashion other than “H1N1 pandemic over.”                   – A.M.