Vaccines Essay

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Introduction Vaccines are biological preparations created from living organisms that enhance immunity against diseases by preventing (prophylactic) or treating (therapeutic) diseases. Vaccines are given in either liquid, injection, oral or intranasal forms. Vaccines are formulated using either the complete form of disease-causing organism or some components of the microorganism. Vaccines can be prepared from living organisms weakened from cultivation under sub-optimal conditions (attenuation) or genetic modification. As a result, it reduces the ability to induce disease. Vaccines can also be formulated from whole organisms that have been inactivated by thermal, chemical or other suitable means. Moreover, vaccines can also be produced from components of disease-causing organisms including certain polysaccharides, proteins or nucleic acids. Vaccines can also be produced from inactivated …show more content…

For example, influenza and polio vaccines provide protection against three virus types whereas some bacterial vaccines such as pneumococcal vaccines protect against approximately twenty-three different Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes. In addition to the incorporation of antigens to vaccines, they are also formulated with solvents (such as water/saline), preservatives and adjuvants. All these components are collectively referred to as excipients. They enhance the quality and potency of vaccines during their shelf-life. Health authorities have attributed the decline in diseases to the impact made by vaccines worldwide while assuring people of their safety and effectiveness. However, these assumptions have also been discredited by government statistics and published studies from credible researchers around the world. Studies show that there was a significant decrease in the number of infectious diseases decades before the onset of mass

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