Vaccines
- erudite .
- Dec 4, 2021
- 2 min read
By Sanam Marjan
What is a vaccine?
It is a simple and safe way of protecting you against diseases.
Vaccines protect you against harmful diseases before you come into contact with them. They train your immune system to create antibodies, just as it does when it’s exposed to a disease.
It uses your body’s natural defenses to build resistance to specific infections and makes your immune system stronger.
Vaccines consist of a suspension of weakened, killed, or fragmented microorganisms that is administered primarily to prevent diseases, which further prevents microorganisms associated with that agent for it to encounter in the future.
How do vaccines work?
When a pathogen enters our body defence system or immune system, it is activated. Which overcomes or destroys the pathogen. Pathogens cause diseases and each of them contains subparts which is unique to the pathogen and disease that it causes. The subpart of the pathogen that causes the formation of antibodies is known as antigens. Antibodies only recognize one specific antigen. When the human body is exposed to antigens for the first time it requires time for the immune system to produce antibodies. If the body is exposed to the same pathogen more than once, the antibody response is much faster and more effective than the first time as the body creates antibody-producing memory cells, which remain alive even after the pathogen is defeated by the antibodies.
Vaccines contain weakened parts of antigens which triggers an immune response within the body. Newer vaccines contain the blueprint for producing antigens instead of antigens itself. This stops the person from receiving the disease. As it will prompt their immune system to respond much as it would have on its first reaction to the actual pathogen.
Some vaccines may require multiple doses over a period of time.
In order to allow for the production of long-lived antibodies and development of memory cells. In this way, the body is trained to fight the specific disease-causing organism while building up memory of the pathogen. So that the body is prepared to rapidly fight it when exposed to it in the future.
Herd Immunity
After being vaccinated they are very likely to be protected against the targeted disease. But not everyone can be vaccinated as people with underlying health conditions that weaken their immune systems or who have severe allergies are advised to avoid vaccinations. These people can still be protected if they live amongst others who are vaccinated. When a lot of people in a community are vaccinated the pathogen cannot circulate efficiently. So the more that others are vaccinated, the less likely people who are unable to be protected by vaccines are at risk of even being exposed to the harmful pathogens.This is called herd immunity. Herd immunity acts by breaking the transmission of infection or by lessening the chances of susceptible individuals coming in contact with a person who is infectious.
Vaccinations do not always provide 100% protection, and herd immunity does not provide full protection to those who cannot safely be vaccinated.
Hence it is important to be vaccinated to protect oneself along with those in the community who are unable to be vaccinated.
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