Research Paper on Vaccines

Introduction

Vaccines are important for the prevention of infectious diseases. Different types of vaccines are administered to individuals and for specific diseases. The first type is live-attenuated vaccines (U.S Department of Health and Human Services Para. 4). It is a vaccine that is aimed at keeping the germs or infection to minimum levels. Therefore, a germ similar to the one infecting an individual, but weaker is introduced in the body to alter the stronger germs or infection. Through this alteration process, an effective immune system is developed in the body of an individual.

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This kind of vaccines may not be healthy for a group of individuals. Such individuals include those with a weak immune system, health challenges, or have undergone transplants (U.S Department of Health and Human Services Para. 6). If this kind of vaccination is administered to these individuals without consultation with a doctor, it may lead to more dangerous health concerns. Live-attenuated vaccines are also limited in their use (U.S Department of Health and Human Services Para. 6). They can only be used in regions have cool temperatures or have easy accessibility to refrigerators for keeping the vaccines cool.

The second type of vaccines is the inactivated vaccines. This is a vaccine that is used in killing the pathogens that are causing infections on the body of individuals (College of Physicians of Philadelphia Para. 9). In the killing of these pathogens, medical professionals use heat or different kinds of chemicals. When the pathogens are exposed to these vaccines, they are unable to replicate and as such remain inactive in the body of individuals.

Inactivated vaccines have different kinds of limitations such as the fact that they can only last for a short period of time (College of Physicians of Philadelphia Para. 11). Therefore, individuals receiving this type of vaccine must go for it from time to time to ensure full immunities against diseases. This kind of vaccine is important for children as they grow up. It helps in the prevention of diseases such as polio and influenza.

The third type of vaccine is the subunit and conjugate vaccines. This is a special kind of vaccine that utilizes only a specific component of the germs to fight it (U.S Department of Health and Human Services Para. 11). For example, the vaccine may use the protein content of the germs. The advantage of this kind of vaccine is that it provides a stronger immune system as opposed to other types of vaccines. This is because it targets specific aspects of the germ and deals with it accordingly. This vaccine can be used on all individuals irrespective of their health conditions. One limitation of this vaccine is that it must be administered from time to time. This vaccination is used in the treatment of diseases such as Hepatitis B and influenza.

Conclusion

Toxoids are vaccines that deal with bacteria that are caused by different types of toxins (College of Physicians of Philadelphia Para. 11). The purpose of toxoids is to identify toxins that cause bacteria and inactivate them to prevent replication in the body of individuals. The inactivation is done using heat and also strong chemicals such as formalin. This type of vaccine can be applied on both children and adults and is used in preventing diseases such as tetanus that are caused by toxins as opposed to bacteria.

Works Cited

College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Different Types of Vaccines. 2018. Web <https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/different-types-vaccines>

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Vaccine Types. 2018. Web. <https://www.vaccines.gov/basics/types/index.html>