Injection

Injection with a syringe

An injection, known as a shot is putting liquid into the body, usually with a needle and a syringe. There are many different kinds of injections, such as:

• Intradermal (just under the top layer of the skin)
• Subcutaneous (into the fat layer under the skin)
• Intramuscular (into a muscle)
• Intravenous (into a vein)
• Intraosseous (into a bone)
• Intraperitoneal (into the abdominal cavity)

Injections can be used to prevent illness or to give medicine.

Injections that prevent illness put a dead or weakened version of the virus they want to prevent into the body. The body then 'remembers' the virus to make future encounters of the virus easier to manage.