Vaccinations

People may have different responses to vaccines due to variations in their immune systems, genetic makeup, or underlying health conditions. Additionally, factors such as age, gender, and previous exposure to similar antigens can also influence how individuals respond to vaccines. It is normal for people to have varying reactions to vaccines, as they provoke the immune system in different ways.

A vaccination must contain either a weakened or inactivated form of the disease-causing pathogen, or specific pieces of the pathogen such as proteins or genetic material. This prompts the body's immune system to recognize and remember the pathogen, allowing it to quickly mount a response if the person is exposed to the actual pathogen in the future.

Why is salt considered safe while chlorine gas is not? Compounds don't always have the same properties as the individual elements they are made of. The deadly chlorine is bound to sodium (also not safe to consume) to make a newcompound that is not only harmless, but necessary for life. Each chemical has to be tested and confirmed safe as it is, not on how it's individual parts behave.

I am not able to speak to what all doctors think, but research I've done indicates that the majority in the US medical community (and most if not all parts of the world) think that the swine flu (H1N1/09) during the 2009 pandemic was a mild disease for the majority infected. It was fast-spreading. It affected some populations (such as the young and healthy, pregnant women, etc.) with more complications than those groups usually experience with the typical seasonal flu. It did not infect or kill as many in the over 65 age group, which usually is harder hit with deaths from the seasonal flu. It is unknown why they had less risk with this disease, but some think they may have acquired some aspect of protection from exposure to other similar types of flu sometime in their lifetimes.

The microbiologists, epidemiologists, and medical practitioners understand the science of the disease and research that indicates that it was caused by a reassortant (mutation/combination) of common strains of flu in swine, humans, and birds that resulted in the new strain. Although this was a new mutation and could have been devastating to the population of the world if it had caused a higher mortality rate, especially since it spread so easily and since there was no inherited or acquired immunity available in the population from prior exposure to the specific strain, they realize that good public education, fast responses by the medical and public health communities and quick development of vaccines all contributed to the control of the new disease and the actual results compared to the potential results that existed and were creating all the concern among world scientists.

I personally, as a member of the medical community, believe that the entire experience was valuable for the world community as preparation for what will likely happen in future epidemics, and it will have provided a good trial of our preparedness and responses to pandemics and threatened pandemics in the future. If we continue to practice good hygiene and avoid the spread of our germs with these improved practices and cough and sneeze etiquette, we will all be better prepared and safer in future situations of new forms of infectious disease.

This situation proved the value and safety of flu vaccinations as well. Millions were vaccinated and protected from disease with a significantly low number of adverse effects reported.

Be safe and protected by getting and having your children treated with routine vaccinations for diseases.

Edward Jenner developed the first successful smallpox vaccine in 1796, using material from cowpox lesions. His work laid the foundation for modern vaccination techniques. Louis Pasteur further advanced the field of vaccination by developing vaccines for diseases like rabies and anthrax in the late 19th century, demonstrating the concept of attenuating pathogens to create effective vaccines. Together, their contributions revolutionized the field of immunization and have saved countless lives.

Yes, antigenic proteins from specific pathogens can be used to develop vaccines. These proteins can stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies and memory cells that can recognize and protect against future encounters with the pathogen, thereby providing immunity.

The liquid portion of a vaccine is called the diluent or excipient, which serves as a medium for the active ingredients in the vaccine. It helps stabilize and maintain the vaccine's potency and efficacy.

Subunit vaccines are produced using only a part of the viral genome. These vaccines use specific proteins or fragments of the virus to stimulate an immune response without causing infection. An example of a subunit vaccine is the Hepatitis B vaccine.

"Memory B cells" of the immune system stay in your body after an infection to enable quick immune responses to the disease-causing organism (antigen) if later exposed again. Antibodies are proteins made by the type of white blood cells called B-cells/"plasma cells" in response to the presence of antigens. The antibodies attach to the B-cells as "B-cell Receptors" to activate them, and can cause them to become either the memory B-cells or more plasma cells.

There are 2 types of vaccines:

(1) Live ("attenuated", or bred to be harmless)

(2) Killed (dead disease-causing particles)

Live vaccines can be more effective, don't usually need 'booster' shots later to make them work better, but are less able to be given to immunocompromised or pregnant people as they are still alive.

Killed vaccines are less effective, often requiring boosters, but can be given to immunocompromised people and (often) pregnant ladies. They are used with an "adjuvant", or a substance that helps them work better (makes your body more able to make antibodies to them faster).

Both types of vaccines have 'epitopes', or molecules that your body recognises. These epitopes are the SAME as what is on the actual disease-causing particles. This is why they work - your body sees the "HARMLESS" particles and learns to recognise them, or creates "antibodies" that help your body respond to the actual thing when it appears.

It takes time to create these antibodies, so if you can make them BEFORE the actual disease finds its way into your body, you can respond much faster and destroy the virus particles before they can cause you harm.

The type of vaccine depends on what has been developed. There are benefits of both ways, but it is not always easy to do both.

Side note: occasionally, you will hear about how "vaccines are horrible, and cause more harm than good". Most of the time, people use multi-resistant organisms as examples, however, these organisms become resistant to ANTIBIOTICS, and NOT vaccines! Having antibodies is natural, unlike many antibiotics! They are NOT comparable! Antibodies are a post-infection method of disease control, whereas vaccines prevent the disease from establishing. Thus, vaccines have in the past been used rather successfully to rid the world of several diseases! (Which we can ALL be extremely grateful for!!!!!)

Another poorly-used example was that of the smallpox vaccine causing many deaths. Reasons why this example is tragically misused is that it was the first-ever attempt at vaccination in recorded history (we no longer live in such an age where we must rely on random human-testing of live NON-attenuated pathogen injection!). Smallpox protection included injecting pus from the lesions of an infected person (or another vaccinated person) to create antibodies.

Case in point: we no longer inject pus into people... it's a good way to spread other infections, and is less reliable in results. We no longer live in the 'dark ages' of immunology. The first attempts at reaching space failed badly, and yet nobody seems to be boycotting space travel now that science and technology has improved, so please be open-minded if anyone ever tells you that in vaccines, in general, are "bad". Okay? :)

Hello there!

Vaccines have saved many lives, especially from nasty viruses like smallpox and poliomyelitis which claimed several human lives, and other terrible bacterial infections like diphtheria, pertussis, Haemophilus influenzae infections in children, to name a few.

So yeah, vaccines have saved many lives, including mine and yours as well and that is why many of us don't have paralysis either from polio and so on.

Hope this helped you! 😄

They can be either. Some vaccines are made with dead viruses or particles of viruses and other vaccines are made with attenuated (weakened) viruses that are not able to make an otherwise healthy person sick. In 2009 the swine flu vaccine approved for use in the US was prepared both ways, the nasal flu vaccine was made from attenuated viruses and the shots were made with dead viruses.

Vaccinations can provide long-term protection against bacterial diseases by stimulating the immune system to produce antibodies. This helps prevent infection and reduce the spread of bacterial illnesses within a population. Vaccinations can also lower the overall burden of disease, saving lives and reducing healthcare costs.

There are vaccines available for certain types of bacterial meningitis, particularly caused by Neisseria meningitidis and Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria. Vaccines like MenACWY and PCV13 help protect against these bacteria by stimulating the immune system to produce antibodies against them. Vaccination is an effective way to prevent bacterial meningitis and its complications.

Cell culture-based vaccines are vaccines that are produced using cell cultures rather than traditional methods involving live organisms or eggs. By using cell cultures, these vaccines can be produced more rapidly, with greater consistency and purity. This technology also reduces the risk of contamination and allows for the production of vaccines against viruses that cannot be easily grown in eggs.

He had eight siblings.

Antibiotics treat current infections. Vaccines create antibodies to deal with a future infection.

A while ago. It just recently started being given out to patients.

P.S - I would recommend this shot. I felt a little light headed the next day but I won't get the flu so it's all worth it !

BCG i.e. bacille Calmette Guerin vaccine used to prevent tuberculosis and also given to prevent compications like such as meningitis in many countries ( not in US). The BCG vaccine confers a positive PPD skin test result but appears to protect only about half of those inoculated