HOW VACCINES WORK?
How do vaccines work in our body : A vaccine works by training the immune system to detect and protect against viruses or bacteria. To do this, certain molecules from the pathogen must enter the body to boost the immune system.
These molecules are called antigens and are found in all viruses and bacteria. If a bacterium or virus reappears, the immune system immediately recognizes the antigen and attacks the disease well before the pathogen spreads.
To know how vaccinations operate, it is necessary to first understand how the immune system of the body protects us from sickness.
What is Immunity?

When the germs of the disease enter your body they start to reproduce. These bacteria are recognized as foreign invaders by your immune system, which acts by producing antibodies. The primary function of these antibodies is to aid in the destruction of microorganisms that cause illness. They may not act quickly to prevent you from getting sick, but by eliminating the invading germs, the antibodies help you recover.
The second task of antibodies is to protect you from future infections. They remain in your bloodstream, and if the same germs try to infect you again – even years later – they will come to your rescue. They are now experienced in fighting these particular germs and can destroy them before you get a chance to make them sick. This is the immune system. This is why most people get diseases like measles or smallpox only once, even if they are exposed several times in a lifetime.
Your immune system is made up of a special network of organs, cells, and tissues, all of which help protect you from disease. When pathogenic germs (for example, a virus or bacteria) enter your body, your immune system will do the following:
i. The germs are identified as foreign (not in contact with the body).
ii. It responds by making special proteins (called antibodies) that help destroy germs. Often, your immune system cannot work fast enough to prevent you from getting sick. But by destroying the germs, it can help to recover.
iii. Remember how to destroy the germs that make you sick. If you come in contact with the same germs at some point in the future, your immune system can quickly destroy it before it has a chance to make you sick. This protection is called immunity.
Vaccines and your Immune system

Vaccines provide protection against a disease without really causing it. They’re made from harmful germs or bacteria that have been killed or weakened (called antigens). The antigens used in some vaccines are created using genetic engineering. Getting immunized is riskier than getting vaccinated.
When you get a vaccine, your immune system responds to the vaccine just like real germs. This:
i. The germs contained in the vaccine are identified as foreign.
ii. The vaccine produces and reacts with antibodies similar to real germs.
iii. Remembering how to destroy germs. If you come in contact with pathogenic germs at any time in the future, your immune system can quickly destroy it before it has a chance to make you sick. This is how you get immunity from vaccines.
How many types of vaccines?
Vaccines work by injecting antigens into the body to prevent a person from becoming ill at the same time. Scientists have devised a number of methods for accomplishing this, each of which produces a unique vaccination. Genetic engineering is utilized to manufacture antigens for some vaccines.
Living attenuated vaccines: For these types of vaccines, a weak, asymptomatic form of the virus or bacteria is introduced into the body. Because it is weak, the pathogen does not spread and cause disease, but the immune system still knows how to identify its antigens and fight them in the future.
Benefits: Since these vaccines introduce real living pathogens into the body, it is an excellent mimic for the immune system. Therefore, only one or two doses of live attenuated vaccines can provide lifelong immunity.
Disadvantages: Because they contain live pathogens, people with weakened immune systems who are undergoing chemotherapy or HIV treatment are not given live vaccinated vaccines because the pathogen is strong and can cause disease. In addition, these vaccines should always be refrigerated so that the weakest pathogen does not die.
Specific vaccines:
i. Measles
ii. Mumps
iii. Rubella (MMR integrated vaccine)
iv. Varicella (chickenpox)
v. Influenza (nasal spray)
vi. Rotavirus
Inactivated Vaccines: For these vaccines, specific viruses or bacteria are killed by heat or chemicals, and its inactivated cells enter the body. Even if the pathogen is dead, the immune system can still learn from its antigens how to fight future surviving versions.
Advantages: These vaccines can be frozen, dried and stored easily as they do not kill the pathogen as live attenuated vaccines. They are safe without viruses or bacteria converting to their pathogenic form.
Disadvantages: Because viruses or bacteria are dead, this mimicry of the real object is not as accurate as a living immobilized virus. Therefore, it often takes several doses and “booster shots” to train the body to defend itself.
Specific vaccines:
i. Polio (IPV)
ii. Hepatitis A
iii. Rabies
Subunit / conjugate vaccines: For certain diseases, scientists can extract a specific protein or carbohydrate from an pathogen that can train the immune system to respond without inducing the disease when it is injected.
Advantages: With these vaccines, the risk of adverse reactions in the patient is very low because one substance or the real pathogen is injected into the body instead of the whole thing.
Disadvantages: It is not always possible to identify the best antigens in the pathogen to train and isolate the immune system. Only a few vaccines can be made this way.
Specific vaccines:
i. Jaundice
ii. Influenza
iii. Haemophilus influenzae type B (HIB)
iv. Pertussis (part of DTAP integrated vaccination)
v. Pneumococcal
vi. Human papilloma virus (HPV)
vii. Meningococcal
Toxoid Vaccines: Some bacterial diseases destroy the body by secreting harmful chemicals or toxins. For these bacteria, scientists can “inactivate” some toxins using a mixture of formaldehyde and water. These dead toxins are safely injected into the body. If they ever appear then the immune system learns enough to fight dead toxins.
Specific Vaccines:
i. Diphtheria
ii. Tetanus
Combined vaccines: Some bacteria, such as Hib disease, have an outer layer of sugar molecules that hide their antigens and fool the young immune system. To solve this problem, an antigen can be linked to another pathogen that scientists can identify. As a result, the body’s immune system recognizes sugar as harmful and attacks it as it enters the body.
Specific Vaccines:
Haemophilus influenzae type B (HIB)
DNA vaccines: While still in the testing phase, DNA vaccines remove all unwanted parts of a bacterium or virus and instead inject parts of the pathogen’s DNA. These DNA strands lead the immune system to produce antigens to fight the pathogen. As a result, these vaccines become highly effective immune system trainers. They are inexpensive and easy to produce.
Specific vaccines:
DNA vaccines are currently being tested in humans for influenza and herpes.
Recombinant vector vaccines: These experimental vaccines are similar to DNA vaccines, in that they present DNA to the body from a harmful pathogen, help produce antigens, stimulate the immune system, and identify and prevent disease. Huh. Let’s get training. The difference is that these vaccines use wattage or weak virus or bacteria as a ride or vector for DNA. In short, scientists can pick up a harmless pathogen and train the body to effectively identify, fight, and shape the DNA of a more dangerous disease.
Specific vaccines:
Vaccine vector vaccines are currently being developed for HIV, rabies, and measles.
How do vaccines work?
Vaccines help to develop immunity by mimicking infection. However, this type of infection never causes disease, but it produces immune T-lymphocytes and antibodies. Sometimes, after being vaccinated, a mimic infection may cause minor symptoms such as fever. Such minor symptoms are common and should be expected as the body increases immunity.
When the mitochondrial infection disappears, the body is left with “memory” T-lymphocytes and B-lymphocytes that remember how to fight the disease in the future. Therefore, an infected person is more likely to develop symptoms and develop the disease shortly before and after vaccination because the vaccine does not have enough time to provide immunity.
How vaccines are made possible?
i. Live vaccines are made by a weaker version of the bacterium or virus that causes the disease. These dead creatures were killed to maintain their ability to provide immunity or protection. In other cases, an inactive toxin is formed from bacteria, bacteria, or viruses. When a vaccine is given, the body’s immune system detects these weak or dead germs or germs and a new complete infection occurs. It begins to produce antibodies against the vaccine content. These antibodies remain in the body and are ready to respond if attacked by a real infectious disease.
ii. In a sense, the vaccine deceives the body into thinking that it is under attack and that the immune system makes weapons that provide protection when a real infection threatens.
iii. Some antibodies provide lifelong protection, while others need to be promoted. For example, measles antibodies can last a lifetime, but antibodies to tetanus may be below the level that protects you, so a booster dose is needed.
iv. It is sufficient to inactivate existing antibodies to certain viruses, such as influenza. That is why influenza vaccines are needed every year.
v. By the way, newborns are free from certain infections because they receive antibodies from their mothers. But in the first months of life, that resistance begins to wane. For this reason, it is important to follow the vaccination schedule prescribed by your pediatrician.
vi. Also keep in mind that children do not receive immunity from their mother against certain infectious diseases, including childhood vaccines, whooping cough, and hepatitis. This is another important reason to follow the American Academy of Pediatrics vaccination guidelines.
Takshila learning give you proper update about the vaccine, its types and the consequential effects. This knowledge is very significant in the present times when every region is affected by the pandemic. Takshila learning wants to educate as well as keep you safe and protected with the right kind of knowledge.
Takshila learning helps you put the right vaccine for healthy living and sustenance
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