Vaccines Essay

Most vaccines are made of two parts. The first is the antigen which is the piece of the disease the body must learn to recognize (Didierlaurent, et al. The second is the adjuvant; this tells the body to respond to the antigen as an infection in the future. Vaccines are usually made from a killed or weakened form of the microbe or one of its surface toxins. The agent works in a way that it stimulates the immune system to recognize it as a threat and react to destroy it. For example, in the eleventh century, Chinese would remove dried scabs of smallpox patients and make powder. The powder is then sprayed to healthy people. It was observed that these people were less susceptible to smallpox in case of an outbreak.

Traditional vaccines, however, had several drawbacks. It was not possible to develop vaccines for organisms not grown in culture. Using part of the virus Through this strategy, one part of the virus is removed and used as the vaccine. The vaccines are composed of a protein that resides on the surface of the virus. The method of immune purification. In this method, monoclonal antibodies are used to separate specific antigen from a mixture. The antigen is then used to develop a vaccine against a pathogen. Its effects can be vital and could lead to lifelong disability. The vaccine against the disease have greatly reduced cases reported. Hepatitis B Hepatitis is the inflammation of the liver. Since 1990 when the vaccine against hepatitis was introduced as a routine vaccination in children, the rate of cases has significantly decreased in the United States by over 82%.

Rotavirus Before the introduction of the vaccine against rotavirus, almost all children in the United States became infected before their 5th birthday. They believe that the side effects of some vaccines are worse than the actual disease. Some parents believe that some vaccines lead to more harmful results than the disease they are used to immunize. The concern that vaccines are a way of pharmaceutical companies and doctors to make a lot of money. A lot of parents still believe that vaccines are a way for doctors to make money. They therefore not to immunize their children as according to them is a wastage of money. On the myth that vaccines contain toxins, science has proved, on the centrally that vaccines contain mostly water and antigens.