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    Types of Vaccines

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    Khairul Zakirah
    There are five main types of vaccines commonly received by infants and young children. These include live attenuated vaccines which contain a weakened live virus that teaches the immune system without causing serious disease. Inactivated vaccines use killed viruses. Toxoid vaccines contain weakened bacterial toxins. Subunit vaccines contain only parts of viruses or bacteria. Conjugate vaccines link polysaccharide coatings on some bacteria to antigens to help young immune systems respond.

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    Types of Vaccines

    Uploaded by

    Khairul Zakirah
    87 views3 pages
    There are five main types of vaccines commonly received by infants and young children. These include live attenuated vaccines which contain a weakened live virus that teaches the immune system without causing serious disease. Inactivated vaccines use killed viruses. Toxoid vaccines contain weakened bacterial toxins. Subunit vaccines contain only parts of viruses or bacteria. Conjugate vaccines link polysaccharide coatings on some bacteria to antigens to help young immune systems respond.

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    There are five main types of vaccines commonly received by infants and young children. These include live attenuated vaccines which contain a weakened live virus that teaches the immune system without causing serious disease. Inactivated vaccines use killed viruses. Toxoid vaccines contain weakened bacterial toxins. Subunit vaccines contain only parts of viruses or bacteria. Conjugate vaccines link polysaccharide coatings on some bacteria to antigens to help young immune systems respond.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    87 views3 pages

    Types of Vaccines

    Uploaded by

    Khairul Zakirah
    There are five main types of vaccines commonly received by infants and young children. These include live attenuated vaccines which contain a weakened live virus that teaches the immune system without causing serious disease. Inactivated vaccines use killed viruses. Toxoid vaccines contain weakened bacterial toxins. Subunit vaccines contain only parts of viruses or bacteria. Conjugate vaccines link polysaccharide coatings on some bacteria to antigens to help young immune systems respond.

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    Scientists take many approaches to designing vaccines.

    These approaches are based on

    information about the germs (viruses or bacteria) the vaccine will prevent, such as how it infects

    cells and how the immune system responds to it. Practical considerations, such as regions of the

    world where the vaccine would be used, are also important because the strain of a virus and

    environmental conditions, such as temperature and risk of exposure, may be different in various

    parts of the world. The vaccine delivery options available may also differ geographically. Today

    there are five main types of vaccines that infants and young children commonly receive:

    1. Live, attenuated vaccines fight viruses

    These vaccines contain a version of the living virus that has been weakened so that it does not

    cause serious disease in people with healthy immune systems. Because live, attenuated vaccines

    are the closest thing to a natural infection, they are good teachers for the immune system.

    Examples of live, attenuated vaccines include measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) and

    varicella (chickenpox) vaccine. Even though these vaccines are very effective, not everyone can

    receive them. Children with weakened immune systems—for example, those who are

    undergoing chemotherapy—cannot get live vaccines

    2. Inactivated Vaccines

    These vaccines also fight viruses. These vaccines are made by inactivating, or killing, the virus

    during the process of making the vaccine. The inactivated polio vaccine is an example of this
    type of vaccine. Inactivated vaccines produce immune responses in different ways than live,

    attenuated vaccines. Often, multiple doses are necessary to build up and/or maintain immunity.

    3. Toxoid Vaccines

    These vaccines prevent diseases caused by bacteria that produce toxins (poisons) in the body. In

    the process of making these vaccines, the toxins are weakened so they cannot cause illness.

    Weakened toxins are called toxoids. When the immune system receives a vaccine containing a

    toxoid, it learns how to fight off the natural toxin. The DTaP vaccine contains diphtheria and

    tetanus toxoids.

    4. Subunit Vaccines

    These vaccines include only parts of the virus or bacteria, or subunits, instead of the entire germ.

    Because these vaccines contain only the essential antigens and not all the other molecules that

    make up the germ, side effects are less common. The pertussis (whooping cough) component of

    the DTaP vaccine is an example of a subunit vaccine.

    5. Conjugate Vaccines

    These vaccines fight a different type of bacteria. These bacteria have antigens with an outer

    coating of sugar-like substances called polysaccharides. This type of coating disguises the

    antigen, making it hard for a young child’s immature immune system to recognize it and respond

    to it. Conjugate vaccines are effective for these types of bacteria because they connect (or

    conjugate) the polysaccharides to antigens that the immune system responds to very well. This

    linkage helps the immature immune system react to the coating and develop an immune
    response. An example of this type of vaccine is the Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib)

    vaccine.

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