Dr Zac Turner warns against Byron Bay holidays

It’s NSW’s pick for a ‘freedom holiday’ but Byron Shire may end up being a disappointing pick for a very frustrating reason.

Welcome to Ask Doctor Zac, a weekly column from news.com.au. This week Dr Zac talks about ‘viral shedding’.

Question: Hi Dr Zac, I currently work in a shop in Byron Bay (I’ve been here for many years, I am not a Covid blow-in), but this week my beautiful town has entered lockdown. Do you believe Byron’s low vaccination rates will lead to ongoing lockdowns in the future?

If that isn’t enough for concern, when I visited Mullumbimby the other day I was met with a strange encounter at a shop. Because I wasn’t a Mullum local, she wanted to know where I had come from. I said, “don’t worry, I’m from Byron, and I’ve been double vaccinated – so it’s all cool.”

Well, that set her off and she immediately berated me and asked: “Which vaccine did you get?” She then proceeded to tell me that doesn’t like serving anyone who has received the Pfizer vaccine because of ‘viral shedding’.

What on earth is viral shedding? And is there any scientific basis in it? I got AstraZeneca – but is there a difference? – Jane, Byron Bay.

Answer: Hi Jane, this one is a two-parter. So, let’s unpack your first question about lockdowns, and then delve into the utter misinformation madness that is ‘viral shedding’.

Wategos Beach, Byron Bay.

The Byron Shire has one of the lowest Covid-19 vaccination levels in New South Wales. At the time of writing this, around 60 per cent of Byron LGA residents have had their first dose, which is concerning compared with the 83.6 per cent for all of NSW. The full vaccination rates are just as concerning, trailing approximately 25 per cent behind the rest of NSW.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian couldn’t be more crystal clear on the state government’s road map out of the latest lockdown. The freedoms we keep hearing about will be for vaccinated people, and only vaccinated people. In my opinion, as a doctor who practices in northern NSW, this area is at great risk because of its low vaccination rates.

Byron Bay, and the surrounding region, should aim for 80 per cent full vaccination rate. I believe there is a high chance the State Government will continue to put the area into lockdown when outbreaks occur until this vaccination target is met. Our northern NSW hospital infrastructure is small and vulnerable. The biggest danger is it being overrun with Covid patients.

If you’ve booked Byron Bay, or indeed and region with low vaccination rates, for your ‘freedom holiday’ – you need to factor in possible lockdowns. You may need a plan B, or make sure your holiday is fully refundable in case of a lockdown.

Byron Bay may not work out to be the ‘freedom holiday’ people are imagining. Picture: Getty.

It’s such a shame that the actions of these unvaccinated people will probably have a huge financial impact the livelihoods of their friends and family. Let’s hope it doesn’t occur, but the Delta variant has proven to be very contagious and once Sydneysiders travel, has the potential to cause further hardship and stress on poorly vaccinated communities.

Now on to ‘viral shedding’. Unfortunately, this is yet another conspiracy theory that is finding a life on social media and being shared by people who have been too easily persuaded with nonsense. The theory, if you could call it that, is a Covid vaccinated person can shed the virus and infect those around them.

I won’t say there is no scientific basis in viral shedding at all because it is an accepted idea. However, I will say there is no science behind the idea Covid vaccines cause viral shedding. Let’s go through the basics first before we delve into the Covid vaccine.

Vaccine shedding is the term used to describe the release or discharge of any of the vaccine

components in or outside of the body. Vaccine shedding can only occur when a vaccine contains a weakened version of the virus.

Viral shedding can only occur if a vaccine contains a weakened version of the virus. Picture: AFP.

Viral shedding is in fact one of the main ways active viruses spread. We’ve discussed previously how this happens via the respiratory system, which is why wearing a mask is so important. This type of shedding has been known to occur for vaccines for Rotavirus or Chickenpox, however the chance for shedding in both is extremely rare.

Covid-19 vaccines, however, are a different story. Covid-19 vaccines have no live elements in them. They contain fragments of spike proteins, which even if you could shed these it wouldn’t be enough to cause an infection. For that you need the entire virus, which the vaccine doesn’t contain.

So, these people you are encountering that claim to be medical experts are entirely wrong, and I recommend you let them know – in a polite, non-confrontational way! People can be very passionate about these things, and you don’t want to get into a fight.

Hopefully, we won’t be locked down for too long. Stay strong and encourage as many of your friends and colleagues to get vaccinated.

Dr Zac Turner has a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Sydney. He is both a medical practitioner and a co-owner of telehealth service, Concierge Doctors, and is also a qualified and experienced biomedical scientist.