NOTE: This editorial has been corrected. Women should receive a swine flu shot but not the nasal spray form of the vaccine, a distinction it initially failed to make.

Repeat after us: A virus causes the swine flu.

Given the dozens of malicious, paranoid and just plain silly conspiracy theories out there, that's worth repeating. The swine flu, or H1N1 virus, is not the result of a dastardly plot by pharmaceutical companies, bioterrorists or President Barack Obama. It spreads like any other virus.

Really, it's just another strain of the influenza virus that sickens millions each year - and, in many cases, just as mild. Except it hits young children and young adults especially hard.

This is not one of those instances where conspiracy theorists can be dismissed as amusing and harmless oddballs. This is a public health crisis.

Skepticism of government and its motives is healthy. The snail's pace in vaccine production, as southeastern Wisconsin residents begin to die from the virus, is a huge concern.

What's unhealthy is allowing that skepticism to cloud judgment. While it should remain a personal decision made in conjunction with a doctor, in most cases, people will want to receive the H1N1 vaccine. It's made by the same companies that produce the annual flu vaccines, and those have become an accepted part of life.

In Racine County, the first shipments of doses were given to health-care providers, school nurses and the like. Others who the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends to get the shot when available are: pregnant women; those who care for babies 6 months and younger; anyone 6 months to 24 years; and anyone 25 to 64 with an underlying medical condition that the flu could complicate. The nasal spray is also recommended for some of those groups.

Unfortunately, Obama's recent decision to declare a national emergency has only stoked the conspiratorial fires, because it gives government permission to suspend its usual rules. In reality, it's likely only a proactive move to prevent another slow, clumsy response like the one after Hurricane Katrina - which, ironically, gave birth to an equally large number of goofy theories about President George W. Bush.

People must follow science rather than blind rants. After failing to prove that the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks were an inside job, some of the chief theorists have simply latched onto this one. It has become cliche to disbelieve whenever the government and large corporations devote lots of attention to something.

Has the swine flu been overhyped? Time will tell, but hopefully the answer is yes. That will mean it never progressed to a full-on pandemic.

In the meantime, here's the cliche that matters: Better safe than sorry.