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! 🙏🏼
Happy AAPI Heritage Month!
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
I cannot tell you how many comments I have personally gotten to “Go back to your country,” or insinuating that “my people” are not welcome here. And while I typically delete or ignore them - today is a day that I stand up and speak out.
I am so proud to be an Asian American - for what we are, for what we stand for, for what we have taught & shown others, and for what we have contributed.
There is so much we can accomplish when we work together. Now more than ever: United we stand, divided we fall.
Life Is A journey
Is your life exactly how you imagined it would be 5 years ago? Heck, how about 1 year ago...? 🤔
What could you do or accomplish in the next year, or 2, or 5?
As my husband likes to say, life is not about the destination, but the journey. Enjoy the ride!
SUSTAINABLE FASHION (and pockets)
On this #fashionFriday and in honor of Earth Week, I wanted to share a few things I do to manage my love of fashion and shopping, while still being as sustainable and earth conscious as possible. (In addition to using my pockets to pick up trash and hold recyclables, of course.)
1. Purchase second hand. This is something that I began doing during training when I couldn't afford designer retail. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find how many second hand items were in quite excellent condition. To this day, I have a hard time spending full price on anything without scouring my favorite consignment shops and sites first, like TheRealReal.
2. Utilize rental services. Did you know in addition to renting dresses for special occasions, you can also rent everyday/work wear, bags, and jewelry? It was hard for me to justify too many new purchases this past year, but I was still able to satisfy my "shopping itch" with new rentals every month. 📦 My favorites are from Rent the Runway and Nuuly (discount codes in the discount section).
3. Focus on quality. There was a time that I was into the trendiness and affordability of fast fashion. But these pieces would never last, and sometimes wouldn't even be appropriate for donations (since many organizations ask that items be in wearable condition). By spending a little more for quality items, it forced me to focus more on classics, since I knew they would last for years to come.
4. Resell. Another benefit of purchasing higher quality items is that they potentially have a higher resale value. Not only does this cut down on overall waste, but it can help recoup some of my shopping costs.
What does Earth Day mean to you? 🌎 And how do you stay sustainable?
COVID Immunity Only for 6 months?
Headlines can be confusing. Their purpose is to hook you, not necessarily to give you all the information up front.
So when you see a headline that says, “COVID Vaccine Immunity Lasts 6 Months” - does that mean ONLY 6 months? 🤔
NO.
When you read the entire article or paper, you’ll realize that studies showed persistent high immunity at 6 months, which suggests it likely will last much much longer. Thus the headlines should have read “COVID Vaccine Immunity Lasts AT LEAST 6 months.”
But that wouldn’t have been quite as catchy, would it?
#thisisourshot #pledgetopause #adcouncil #itsuptoyou #takecarebeforeyourshare
A day in Clinic in 14 seconds
A day in ophthalmology clinic in 14 seconds:
1/ Yes, I still wear an N95 at work since I get pretty close to patients when examining their eyes.
2/ I should count my steps on clinic days. I do a lot of walking back and forth between the exam rooms and my office.
3/ If I got a nickel every time I can't find my badge...
4/ Wash your hands. Wash your hands. Wash your hands.
5/ My lenses! These allow me to look inside your eyes. (I've had this case for over 10 years!)
6/ A slit lamp has a bright light and biomicroscope to examine your eyes.
7/ Ishihara plates are used to check for color blindness.
8/ We check your vision one eye at a time. You'd be surprised how many people don't realize when one of their eyes is blurry!
9/ Fun fact: The big E correlates with 20/200 vision. If you cannot see this letter with your better seeing eye, you are considered legally blind.
10/ Fluorescein eye drops are used to numb (so you are more comfortable during your exam) and to examine the surface of the eye.
11/ The blue light on the slit lamp serves 2 purposes: to check intraocular eye pressure with an applanator and to visualize fluorescein uptake by scratches on your eye.
12/ The head lamp or indirect ophthalmolscope gives us a wide field of view inside your eye.