Well it's that time of year again. Time to stand in a long line-up awaiting your turn to let a doctor stab a needle into your body and inject a cocktail of viruses, toxins and other bio-material that supposedly will keep you safe from the ever-dreaded flu. But will this shot in the arm really keep you healthy?

In all 23 years of my existence, never once have I fell ill with the flu and never once did I get a shot. Many of my friends also refuse these unnecessary needles and stay healthy. In fact, the only people I've encountered that have fallen ill with flu-like symptoms are those who actually get the shot.

Many people believe that they've gotten the flu from the shot itself. This is a reasonable claim considering the fact that the flu shot actually contains an attenuated (half-killed) strain of the virus, and that many people end up getting flu-like symptoms shortly after being injected. The doctors who promote flu-shots (there are thousands who don't and refuse to take them themselves) will tell patients who got the shot that they do not have the flu, just the symptoms of it. This is very suspicious.

What is more suspicious is that flu shots are pushed on everyone even though Health Canada only recommends it for “people 65 years of age or older; people of any age who live in a nursing home or chronic care facility; and people with chronic medical conditions including bronchitis, emphysema, heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease or cancer.” The vast majority of us, especially students, do not fall into any of these categories and should not waste our time, or endanger our health with these unnecessary vaccines.

But even for the small minority of people whom Health Canada actually recommends to get the shot, the value of these vaccines is questionable. What most people don't realize is that the flu isn't a communicable disease. The flu is a constantly mutating virus, which over the years has mutated into hundreds of different strains. All pharmaceutical companies who produce flu shots have no idea which strain will dominate any given season, and must guess which viruses to put in the vaccines they produce.

So other than attenuated (half-killed) viruses, what else gets injected into our bloodstream when we get a flu shot? These vaccines have plenty of Mercury Thimerosal (mercury is the second most toxic element on our planet after uranium) added as a preservative. They contain Ethylene Glycol (anti-freeze). Aluminum, which is linked to Alzheimer's, causes seizures, and is known to cause cancer in laboratory mice, is added to promote antibody response. There is also some Formaldehyde, which is a well-known cancer-causing agent, added into the mix.

Well if the additives aren't disgusting enough, consider how they create the attenuated (half-killed) viruses that are the main ingredient in these vaccines. Vaccines are grown and strained through animal tissue such as chicken embryo, monkey kidney tissue, embryonic guinea pig cells and calf sterum. Most flu vaccines are being produced in chicken embryos, but big pharmaceutical companies are pushing towards growing more of them in live mammalian cells, which they intend on genetically engineering. Do you really want chicken DNA or genetically engineered animal DNA to be injected directly into your bloodstream?

The whole idea of injecting the virus itself, along with mercury, aluminum, formaldehyde, and anti-freeze, directly into our veins in order to ensure good health is preposterous. Treat your body with respect, stay healthy, and don't get a flu shot this year.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.