Vaccines

We are lucky to live in the world that we live in. For most of us in modern day America, worrying that something as simple as a scratch from a rosebush or even something as horrifying as rabies or tetanus will end our lives is a thing of the past. Thanks to advancements in medicine, humans are able to fight off all kinds of threatening microbes that could otherwise lead to devastating illness or even death. Although some of these medical “interventions,” such as antibiotics, have some unwanted effects on human health, there is little known disadvantage to vaccinating people against all kinds of pathogens.

Vaccines can protect people from illness through various mechanisms, but basically work by exposing the body to a form of the pathogen that cannot hurt it. However, the immune system still recognizes the pathogen as an invader and fights it off as if it were virulent. This way, when it encounters “the real deal,” the immune system will recognize the invader much more quickly and be able to fight it off before it can do any significant damage. Vaccines are truly amazing. Between the incredible functional capability of the immune system and the fact that scientists are even able to strip viruses of what makes them dangerous is mind-blowing to me. The two main kinds of vaccines are attenuated and inactivated. Attenuated viruses are reduced in virulence in some way that makes them much less threatening to someone with normal and healthy immune function. Inactivated viruses are rendered unable to replicate, which takes away their ability to impair the body in any serious way. Without being able to replicate, the pathogen cannot overcome the body’s immune system, and the body kills it off easily. Each type of vaccine has their own advantages, which is why it’s very important to follow the recommendations of your healthcare provider when getting your vaccinations.

One disease that can be prevented through vaccination is the polio virus. There are two main forms of immunization against polio- the Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) and the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV). At first, only the IPV was available, and although it was very effective in reducing cases of the disease, because it is made with an inactivated virus, patients need to receive multiple doses to attain full immunity. However, the OPV is administered orally and made of an attenuated virus, providing longer-lasting immunity. Due to the fact that the OPV is administered orally, receiving the vaccine by this method delivers the attenuated virus directly to the tissues of the throat and gastrointestinal tract- the tissues that are targeted by the wild-type virus. The OPV is more effective at preventing disease because it kills the virus almost immediately after it is introduced into the body. As was previously mentioned, these vaccines did a lot to lower rates of the illness. However, there is a new “polio-like” illness spreading that has been a cause for concern. It is called Acute Flaccid Myelitis, and it is affecting, but generally not killing, children infected with other similar viruses like Polio or West Nile Virus. Hopefully before too long, scientists and doctors will be able to find a vaccine for AFM as well.