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About Vaccinations
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Vaccinations protect people from specific diseases by boosting our body’s own
defense system.
Vaccination is also called immune system.
Vaccination creates immunity that protects people from infections without causing
to suffer from disease itself.
How it Works
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Most vaccines contain little bit of a disease germ that is weak or dead but
those are not the type of germs that make people sick. However some
vaccines do not contain any germs.
Having this little bit of the germ inside of our body makes body’s defense
system to build antibodies to fight off the same kind of germs. Antibodies help
trap and kill harmful germs.
Body can make antibodies in two ways: by getting the actual disease or by
getting the vaccination. Getting the vaccine is much safer way to make
antibodies without suffering from diseases.
Antibodies can stay in our body for a long time remembering how to fight off
the germs. When real disease causing germ enters the body, it remembers and
fight off.
Explain the principle of vaccination
Different vaccines are introduced into the body by
different routes: into the muscle; into the skin;
into the lungs; etc.
After the first exposure to a vaccine (or any antigen),
no antibodies are present in the blood for several
days. Then there is a slow rise of antibodies in
the blood, followed by a gradual decline. This
gradual rise and decline is known as the primary
response.
Many of the B-cells that are produced during the
primary response continue to circulate as
memory cells, which can last for years or
decades. Memory cells patrol for the return of a
particular antigen.
The memory cells are numerous so if they do
encounter the appropriate antigen they carry out
a secondary response, which is much faster than
the primary response. Thus memory cells can
terminate an infection before the individual gets
sick. Hence the advantage of immunity.
Following a secondary response, antibodies in the
blood rise rapidly to a level that is much greater
than before. Therefore many vaccines are given
twice; the second vaccination is called the
The Benefits and Dangers of
Vaccination
BENEFITS
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Vaccines are beneficial in that they
have helped prevent millions of cases
of infectious disease, and hundreds of
thousands of deaths.
DANGERS
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A vaccine acts by stimulating a
person's own immune system to
produce antibodies against parts of a
bacterium or virus.
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When the person is once again
exposed to that bacterium or virus, the
body can quickly produce antibodies
and prevent infection. In addition,
vaccines can protect individuals who
have not been immunized.
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Some vaccines contain toxic substances like mercury
that may cause harmful side-effects.
Alternatively, if patients are allergic to something in the
vaccine it can, rarely, result in death.
Vaccinations may make patient vulnerable to other
illnesses as it can temporarily “overload” the immune
system.
Artificial immunity can be less effective than natural
immunity.
Use of too much vaccinations can result in the illness
mutating to better resist said vaccination, causing
stronger strains of illnesses overall.
Vaccines typically contain mild strains of the illness,
and thus the patient may actually get the illness as a
result of the vaccination.
For More Information/Bibliography:
About the principles of vaccinations:
“Explain the principles of vaccination.” IB Biology Syllabus. 2009. Web. 19 Sept.
2011. <http://ibbiology.wetpaint.com/page/Explain+the+principle+of+vaccination>
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About the benefits/dangers of vaccinations:
"Discuss the Benefits and Dangers of Vaccination." IB Biology Syllabus. 2009. Web.
19 Sept. 2011.
<http://ibbiology.wetpaint.com/page/Discuss+the+benefits+and+dangers+of+vaccin
ation>.
"How Are Vaccines Beneficial." The Q&A Wiki. Web. 19 Sept. 2011.
<http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_are_vaccines_beneficial>.
Phillips, Alan. "Vaccination Myths." Health, Wealth & Happiness. Web. 19 Sept. 2011.
<http://www.relfe.com/vaccine.html>.
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