This is certainly a question worth considering. After all, some vaccines (such as the chickenpox vaccine) do contain a live form of the virus, albeit a weakened one. But the COVID vaccine does not.

None of the authorized and recommended COVID-19 vaccines contain the live virus. This means that the vaccines cannot make you sick with COVID-19.

The vaccines work by teaching our immune systems how to recognize and fight the virus that causes COVID-19. Sometimes this process can cause symptoms, such as fever. These symptoms are normal and are a sign that the body is building protection against the virus that causes the disease.

It typically takes a few weeks for the body to build immunity after vaccination. That means it’s possible a person could be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 just before or just after vaccination and still get sick. This is because the vaccine has not had enough time to provide protection.

So get the vaccine when it becomes available to you. It can’t give you the virus, but it can certainly protect you from it.