Vaccinations-Are they effective? Pres Thurles

Vaccinations- Are they effective?

Introduction How are they made? History The Polio Vaccine The Rubella Vaccine e-mail us TB & MMR

The Tetanus Vaccine The Meningococcal C Vaccine Who should be vaccinated? Side Effects Disadvantages

How they work! & Different types

Vaccination involves injection of a disease-causing microorganism that has been killed or modified or a toxin, into the body to trigger the immune system to build a defence mechanism that continuously guards against a specific disease. The activating components contained in the vaccine are antigens. The immune system recognizes these antigens as foreign. It then responds tom the antigens by developing either antibodies or white blood cells called T lymphocytes. These are special attacker cells. Vaccination mimics real infection but presents little or no risk to the recipient.

Different Types of Vaccination

Active immunisation can be carried out using dead organisms. This is done by injecting dead organisms which can no longer cause disease but still contain antigens. This type of vaccination protects against bacterial diseases like whooping cough and diphtheria.

Vaccination can also be carried out using bacterial toxins that have been treated so that they are no longer toxic but their antigens are still intact. This type of vaccine uses the toxins produced by the bacteria rather than the organism and is used in vaccinating against tetanus. (Bacterial Diseases)

Finally, vaccination can be carried out using live organisms which have been attenuated (weakened). This procedure is used to prevent diseases such as polio, measles and small pox. (Viral Diseases)

The Vaccination Success Story

Smallpox was eradicated as a result of world-wide vaccination in the 1970’s.
Poliomyelitis is expected to be wiped out within the next year due to world-wide vaccination.
It is also expected that, with proper levels of vaccination, measles will be another of the infectious diseases to disappear in a short time. This alone could save one million lives each year.
Successful introduction of the Hib vaccination in the early 1990s, has almost eliminated the Hib Meningitis in children in Ireland.
The level of vaccination in most developed countries is 95% - which is the figure needed to protect children against the spread of disease. In some areas in Ireland this figure is much lower.

The Safety of Vaccines

Parents are sometimes concerned about the safety of vaccines and possible side effects. It is important to know that:

Vaccines are rigorously tested before being licensed for use
Every batch of vaccines are independently tested before use
The effects of vaccines are continuously monitored
Vaccines can only be administered by a healthcare professional and only when it is safe to do so
Almost all children can be vaccinated; there are very few reasons for your children not to be vaccinated.

Side effects are possible amongst a relatively small number of children. These are usually minor discomforts which should not cause concern, such as reddening of the skin, slight fever or a swelling at the site of the injection. Complications can arise, but severe reactions are very rare.