COVID-19 Vaccines Do Not Shed

There seems to be a little confusion about the concept of shedding and the COVID-19 vaccines. While other vaccine types may do this (to be explained below), rest assured the COVID-19 vaccines DO NOT SHED.

There are several types of vaccines in usage today with different mechanisms: inactivated (polio, flu shots), live-attentuated (MMR, chickenpox), messenger RNA (COVID-19), subunit (hepatitis B, HPV, and meningococcal), toxoid (diptheria, tetatnus), and viral vector (Ebola, COVID-19).

Of these, only live-attentuated vaccines can potentially “shed,” since they use a weakened (or attenuated) form of the virus or bacteria to activate your immune system. The other vaccine types utilize killed or parts of a virus or bacteria, which can “trick” your immune system into mounting a response but cannot actually infect you (or affect anyone around you in any way!). 👏🏼 #sciencerocks

As a mother and doctor, I understand the questions and concerns people have – but please please please make sure you talk with a trusted and educated source when making your health related decisions! 🙏🏼