Vaccine of public importance

• Introduction to Vaccines:

  • A vaccination offers protection against specific infectious or cancerous illnesses through active acquired immunity
  • Vaccines are usually composed of weakened or destroyed versions of the pathogen, its toxins, or one of its surface proteins
  • Immunization is the process of making a person immune or resistant to an infectious disease through vaccines
• Types of Vaccines:

  1. Live attenuated vaccines (e.g., BCG, MMR, Oral Typhoid): Protect for a long time but may cause infection

  2. Killed vaccines (e.g., Cholera, Injectable Polio): Protect for a shorter time but are safer and may need boosters

  3. Extracted cellular fractions vaccines (e.g., Pneumovac, Meningovac): Include Hepatitis B Polypeptides Vaccine

  4. Toxoids vaccines (e.g., Tetanus, diphtheria): Do not prevent a carrier state

  5. Whole cell vaccines (e.g., Cholera)

  6. Combinations vaccines (e.g., DPT, MMR, PENTAVALENT VACCINE)

  7. RNA vaccines (e.g., mRNA vaccines for various infectious diseases including Covid-19)
• Storage Requirements for Vaccines:

  • Cold chain maintenance is crucial
  • Storage in cold rooms, deep freezers, refrigerators, and cold boxes
  • Temperature maintained between +2°C to +8°C
• Vaccine Effectiveness:

  • Effectiveness is the capacity to generate intended results and leave a lasting impression
  • Different from efficiency, which is the capacity to carry out a task without wasting resources
  • Vaccine effectiveness can be assessed through various observational studies using data from trials, health records, surveillance platforms, and serological testing
• Factors Affecting Vaccination Effectiveness:

  • Host factors: age, underlying medical conditions, previous infection history
  • Pathogen factors: viral variants in circulation
  • Vaccination factors: type of vaccine, duration since immunization