Vaccines
Vaccines
Vaccines (/vækˈsiːnz/) are biological preparations that provide active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease. They typically contain an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe, its toxins, or one of its surface proteins.
Etymology
The term vaccine originates from the Latin vaccīn-us (from vacca) meaning "cow", because the first vaccine was derived from a cowpox virus given to a boy.
Types of Vaccines
There are several types of vaccines in use. These include:
- Inactivated vaccines: These are vaccines made from viruses and bacteria that have been killed through physical or chemical processes. These dead organisms cannot cause disease.
- Live attenuated vaccines: These are vaccines made from viruses and bacteria that have been weakened in the lab. They’re similar to the natural infection that they help prevent and create a strong and long-lasting immune response.
- Subunit, recombinant, polysaccharide, and conjugate vaccines: These vaccines use specific pieces of the virus or bacteria — like its protein, sugar, or capsid (a casing around the virus). Because these vaccines use only specific pieces of the virus or bacteria, they give a very strong immune response that’s targeted to key parts of the microorganism.
- Toxoid vaccines: These vaccines use a toxin (harmful product) made by the germ that causes a disease. They create immunity to the parts of the germ that cause a disease instead of the germ itself. That means the immune response is targeted to the toxin instead of the whole germ.
Related Terms
- Immunization: The process by which a person becomes protected against a disease through vaccination.
- Herd immunity: A form of indirect protection from infectious disease that occurs when a large percentage of a population has become immune to an infection, thereby providing a measure of protection for individuals who are not immune.
- Antigen: A substance that the immune system recognizes as foreign and that can provoke an immune response.
- Adjuvant: A substance that helps improve the body’s immune response to a vaccine.
- Booster shot: An additional dose of a vaccine needed periodically to 'boost' the immune system.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Vaccines
- Wikipedia's article - Vaccines
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