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Originally Posted by willravel
Your point is that you're being poisoned only a little, and I agree on that point. There is very little poison in flu shots, but if something is going into my body, I don't really see a need for any poison, espically when any doctor can tell you that being healthy is the best defence against diseases, including influenza.
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I'll agree that being healthy is optimal. But it's a little paranoid to say "being poisoned only a little" - if it were still poisonous in those small amounts, then they wouldn't make flu vaccines using them. The word "poison" as applied by the science community (including the FDA) is just a classification based on the dose that is lethal or severely harmful. I forget the actual number the FDA uses for the standard, but I think it's something like 50mg or less to be considered a poison. If they use so little of these poisonous substances that they are no longer severely harmful or lethal, and you are still worried about that they are called "poisons", then you are kind of missing the point. Booze and Tylenol aren't considered poisons by the FDA (not last time I checked), but if you consume enough of them (separately or together), you'll find they can be quite lethal.
I have a quotation written in my old biology notebook that applies here:
"Everything is poison, there is poison in everything. Only the dose makes a thing not a poison".
--Paracelsus, the father of toxicology
But back to the OP - yes, I generally do get flu shots when I have the time, as long as they are affordable and there isn't a shortage (since I'm not elderly or a child).