BIOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE REAL WORLD
VACCINES
Introduction
Prevention of disease has been regarded as the most effective, convenient, and cheap way of approaching healthcare services by most countries. The use of vaccines goes a long way for this to be actualized. Vaccination is thus regarded to be one of the most important and lifesaving inventions. It has become an important exercise in medicine across the world. The development of vaccines has enabled most countries to overcome the burden of certain diseases that were dreaded and which caused significant economic and social losses (Singh & Tomar, 2012). Vaccines are efficient in the maintenance of public health. They are considered a safe and cost-effective way of preventing infectious diseases’ ravaging effects (National Institute of health, 2008).
How vaccine works
A vaccine is defined as ‘the collection of immunological determinants which when presented to the immune system, either as killed or live antigens, provoke protective immune response’ (Singh &Tomar, 2012).
The process of vaccination is defined as a preparation containing a pathogen (disease-producing organism) either in the attenuated or inactivated state which is then introduced into the body of an individual to produce antibodies against the pathogen so that the individual becomes protected against infection, at a later date, by that pathogen (Singh & Tomar, 2012). The individual that has been vaccinated or immunized is then said to have developed immunity against the pathogen should they be exposed to the pathogen and not get affected.
The type of immunity produced by administering a vaccine into an organism is called active immunity. Vaccines work by inducing active immunity through the proliferation of antigen-reactive T and B cells and providing immunological memory, i.e., the body’s ability to produce a response if exposed to the infection or pathogen. This ensures protection against the disease that would have been caused by the pathogen. It is also worth noting that the body also benefits from passive immunity, which is mostly transferred from the mother to the child. However, this type of immunity cannot activate the immune system and generate immunological memory.
Traditional methods of vaccine creation and biotechnology techniques
Traditionally, vaccine creation involved live attenuated, killed, or inactivated pathogens and cell membrane compounds or toxoids. This approach has been very successful in controlling various diseases since they provide both cellular and humeral response and are currently form the majority of the licensed vaccine. However, certain limitations have been associated with the use of this type of vaccine. These include possible risks of the microorganism’s reversion for a virulent phenotype, less effective, especially in the attenuated form and the requirement of complex components in culture medium (Vinayagamurthy, 2006).
To overcome the weaknesses associated with the traditional form of vaccine creation, recombinant DNA technology has been employed in the making of vaccines. This is based on highly refined recombinants, highly purified antigens through structure-based designs, and genomic-based screening. Most of the clinical trials are still ongoing; however, this method has recorded a reduced level of immune response compared to the traditional methods (Jorge & Dellagostin, 2017)
Diseases in the United States babies are vaccinated against
According to the National Center for immunization and respiratory diseases (2020), children (from birth through 6 years) should undergo vaccination against the following diseases.
- The chickenpox-this disease mainly spread through the air, and direct contact can result in more serious complications if unchecked, notably pneumonia and encephalitis (brain swelling). The vaccine used against chickenpox is known as the varicella vaccine.
- Diphtheria- the TPAP vaccine protects against diphtheria, which normally targets the heart if not arrested. It can result in heart failure, swelling of the heart muscles, and even death.
- Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib) – Hib vaccine is essential in preventing this disease, which can result in meningitis. It is worth noting that disease may not present symptoms in certain individuals, but complications still arise.
- Hepatitis A- mainly spread through contaminated food or water, HepA is used to prevent hepatitis A, leading to serious complications, including liver failure and blood disorders.
- Hepatitis B- this disease is mainly spread through blood and body fluids, including sexual fluids; the HepB vaccine prevents it.
- Influenza (Flu) – it is spread through air and direct contact and prevented by the Flu vaccine.
- Measles- it is also spread through air and direct contact and can result in encephalitis (Brain swelling) and pneumonia. The MMR vaccine prevents it.
- Mumps- MMR vaccine protects against mumps, leading to the development of meningitis if not arrested.
- The pertussis-DTaP vaccine protects against pertussis, which normally manifests in the form of severe cough, runny nose, and apnea (a pause in breathing in infants).
- Polio- this is a disease that can lead to paralysis and death. IPV virus is used in its prevention.
- Pneumococcal- this condition can lead to a serious blood infection. The PCV13 vaccine prevents it.
- Rotavirus- RV vaccine is used in its prevention.
- Rubella- it is prevented by the MMR vaccine.
- Tetanus-it is mainly spread through exposed cuts in the skin and can lead to difficulty breathing and bones that easily break. The DTaP vaccine prevents it.
Impact of vaccinations on these diseases in the past 100 years
Vaccination has brought about significant improvements in the control and containment of these diseases. According to the world health organization, United Nations child education fund, and the World Bank (2009), there has been a global improvement in the incidences of diseases resulting from vaccination. The following table summarizes the impact of vaccination over the years, as reported by the WHO, UNICEF, and World Bank.
| Disease | Impact of vaccination |
| Diphtheria | Reduced death from 50% to 15% upon administering the first vaccine in 1910.it is no longer an endemic today. |
| Hepatitis A | Licensed in the United States in 1996, cases have drastically gone down ever since. |
| Hepatitis B | Difficult to assess the intense surveillance required, but 90% of the member states of WHO administer its vaccines, and fewer cases have been reported. |
| Influenza | Pandemics tend to occur every 40 years, the most devastating being in 1918, when almost half of the world population was infected. Currently, vaccination has reduced the number of deaths by about 75% |
| Measles | By 1980, only 16% of children were receiving the measles vaccine. This increased to 72% by 2000 reducing the reported cases by 80% |
| Meningococcal | Early vaccines developed between 1900 and 1940s. Incidences have dropped, especially id developed countries doe to the use of conjugate vaccines. |
| Mumps | Since its discovery in the 1930s in the United States, more than 13 vaccines have been developed and has reduced its effect by about 80% |
| Polio | By 1988, it was endemic in 125 countries paralyzing close to 1000 children every day, by the end of 2007, it had been eradicated in America, Europe, and Western Pacific and drastically reduced in other regions of the world |
| Rotavirus | Discovered in 1973, vaccines prevent half a million deaths every year worldwide |
| Tetanus | Since being marked for elimination in 1985 by the public health community, annual world deaths had reduced by 75% in 2000 |
From the summary, it is clear that vaccination has had a big success in reducing and even eliminating diseases that were a major source of concern in the early years. Despite this success, some people are still uncomfortable allowing their children to benefit from the vaccination services, which in most cases, are provided for free.
According to Smith (2017), most parents and other groups who have argued against vaccination believe that vaccines contain toxins that will harm their children; that vaccines are fronted by individuals who are only interested in making profit but do not care for the welfare of the children; others argue that the immune system of infants is still underdeveloped and cannot handle the many doses of vaccines that, in their opinion, is administered too soon; that the natural immunity infants are born with are just okay to take them through their lifetime, certain religious groups mostly front this line of argument; some say that there has never been a comparative study of the vaccinated versus the unvaccinated to convince them that vaccination works fully. No reliable scientific evidence, however, has been provided to prove the arguments against vaccination. Most of these arguments are motivated by traditions, religious beliefs, and smear campaigns to derail efforts to achieve public health safety. However, there is a need to carry out aggressive sensitization campaigns to demystify certain beliefs about vaccination and win over the confidence of parents in the administration of vaccination services. This is because parents are a key factor in this campaign since they are their children’s primary caregivers.
In conclusion, I can advise my friend to embrace this process and allow the son to be vaccinated. For further information, He should access the nearest health facility offering vaccination services, asked to be taken through the process, cycle, benefits, and side effects of vaccination and then allow his child to be vaccinated. This will protect the child against the complications associated with diseases that are easily avoided.
References.
Singh, Rashmi & Tomar, Neha. (2012). Vaccine Technology.
National center for immunization and respiratory diseases (2020). Two thousand twenty recommended vaccinations for infants and children (birth through 6 years). Parent-friendly version.
WHO, UNICEF, World Bank. (2009) State of the world’s vaccines and immunization, 3rd ed. Geneva, World Health Organization.
Vinayagamurthy, Balamurugan & Sen, Arnab & Saravanan, Paramasivam & R.K, Singh. (2006). Biotechnology in the Production of Recombinant Vaccine or Antigen for Animal Health. Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances.
Sergio, Jorge & Odir Antonio Dellagostin (2017). The development of veterinary vaccines: a review of traditional methods and modern biotechnology approaches. Journal of biotechnology, research, and innovation Vol.1 (1)
Tara C Smith (2017). Vaccine rejection and Hesitancy: A review and call to action. Journal of Open Forum Infect. Dis 4(3)
National Institute of Health (2008). Understanding Vaccines.What they are and how they work. NIH publication No 08-4219