Protection against death and disease
What are Vaccines?
There’s a lot of controversy surrounding vaccination. Critics of vaccines say that vaccines can cause autism (they don’t); that too many vaccines at once can result in an immunological overload (that doesn’t happen); or link vaccination to a widespread list of almost entirely unrelated medical conditions, including sudden infant death, schizophrenia, epileptic seizures, multiple sclerosis and Type 1 diabetes.
The truth remains that vaccines are safe and they prevent the spread of death and disease. At their most basic level, vaccines are nothing more than dead or inactive organisms given to host bodies to form antibodies to immunize against active forms of the organism.
How do Vaccines work?
Understanding vaccines requires a rudimentary understanding of immunization. To begin with, antigens are foreign invaders to a host body that trigger antibody generation.
When an antigen is detected by a host body’s immune system, white blood cells mobilize to contain the contamination. During the first encounter process, white blood cells, called T cells (or T lymphocytes), mobilize to surround the antigen to prevent any further spread. There are multiple kinds of T cells, and each kind is responsible for a different immunological response, but the standard mobilization is the same: T cells try to subdue or destroy antigens so B cells can form antibodies.
B cells (or B lymphocytes) are responsible for antibody formation. Once the antigen has been subdued, B cells surround the antigen, consume it, digest it, and replicate it into antibody-producing plasma cells. B cells react differently in different situations; for example, some B cells can mobilize alongside T cells, while others only mobilize once they have been activated by T cells.
T cells and B cells that have previously encountered specific antigens mature into Memory T and Memory B cells. These cells “Memorize” antigen code and mobilize once a specific antigen is detected again. Memory T cells attack specific antigens based on previous experience, while Memory B cells produce specific antibodies based on previous experience. Whatever worked or didn’t work last time is taken into account during second encounter conditions, and cells adapt until the antigen is contained and eliminated.
Vaccines work by introducing inactive antigens into a host body in order to allow T cells to figure out how to eliminate foreign invaders and to allow B cells to form antibodies against foreign invaders.
Why are Vaccines important?
The human body is resilient and able to protect itself against foreign invaders; chickenpox, for example, is a highly contagious disease caused by the varicella zoster virus, but the body is more than capable of dealing with the antigen without the need for a vaccine. At this point, I should mention that if it’s possible, children should be vaccinated for chickenpox. It’s safer than actually getting infected, and there’s no annoying itchy sensation to worry about.
However, certain bacteria like variola minor (smallpox), and viruses like rubella (responsible for rubella measles) are fatal and the human body is unable to properly heal itself against such antigens. Vaccines, therefore, make previously fatal illnesses that are incredibly easy to contract, like smallpox, measles, mumps, and polio, almost impossible to come across.
More importantly, vaccines ensure that the spread of such illnesses is greatly reduced. The term “herd immunity” refers to widespread immunity that prevents the distribution of illnesses. Simply put, if 99/100 people in a village are vaccinated against smallpox, the last 1 person has an incredibly small chance of contracting smallpox if they remain within the community. Thanks to widespread vaccination and herd immunity, the World Health Organization (WHO) certified the eradication of smallpox in 1979, followed by the certified eradication of rinderpest in 2011.
Today, the WHO list 25 fatal and near-fatal diseases that are certified “Vaccine-Preventable.”
What is the future of Vaccination?
Up until the early 1800’s, there were only two forms of medical prevention against viruses and bacteria: inoculation and coming into direct contact with an active antigen. Inoculation is akin to direct contact, except that the antigen is diluted, and therefore less dangerous. The risks associated with inoculation are still far greater than any potential minor risk associated with vaccination.
As always, I’m excited for the truly absurd possibilities. DNA Vaccination is a form of disease prevention that utilizes small, circular pieces of genetically modified bacteria that code for the creation of specific antibodies within host bodies. Simply put, DNA vaccines don’t utilize inactive organisms; they’re nothing more than instructions for the body to create a protective shield against illness. As of right now, DNA vaccination is still undergoing experimentation and testing.