The Immune Systems Life Saving Ability: How Vaccines Shape Our Health

    

The Immune Systems Life Saving Ability: How Vaccines Shape Our Health     

    In the 1900's, life expectancy was 47, today it is 78 years old. That difference is huge and is possible due to vaccine advancements. Vaccines are thoroughly monitored, have been greatly advanced since the complete understanding of the human immune system, and are considered to be one of the safest scientific advancements today (Miller, 2015). That is not to say that there is not a risk, however side effects are extremely rare in comparison to the benefits.

    It is predicted that vaccines save two to three million lives every year by preventing diseases like polio and measles by introducing deactivated pathogens/proteins, which stimulate an immune system response (Vetter, 2018). First, vaccines activate the innate immune system, this is the bodies first line of defense (Vetter, 2018). The innate immune system acts within hours, yet lacks specificity and memory (Vetter, 2018). Following the innate immune system response, the adaptive immune system is activated. The adaptive immune system is highly particular and has memory, allowing it to recognize and eliminate the pathogen introduced by the vaccine (Vetter, 2018). This system involves a network of diverse lymphocytes and antibodies that provide long-term protection. After the pathogen is eliminated, the adaptive immune system generates memory cells forming an immunological memory that activates when exposed to the pathogen (Vetter, 2018). In summary, vaccines are trained to produce antibodies and T-cells in response to an antigen.

    Despite this, vaccine fear has gone up while the number of sick has gone down. It is important to understand that individuals are more likely to be severely harmed by pathogens, than a vaccine (Miller, 2015). Much of this fear is due to false information on the internet and in the political sphere (Black, 2010). To combat this misinformation, we scientists need to be well-read and up-to-date on evidence-based information. Common ingredients you will find in a vaccine are antigens (parts of a pathogen that generate the immune response), adjuvants (substances that enhance the immune response to pathogens and lower how many vaccines you need to get), stabilizers like amino acids and sugars (protect the integrity of the ingredients through storage and transport), preservatives (prevent bacteria and fungal contamination), and formaldehyde (used to inactivate a virus) (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2024). These ingredients have a long history of being safe (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2024). 

     Following the anti-vaccine movement, vaccinations for children have been declining over the years, indicated by a rise in diseases that vaccines are fully capable of fighting (Clift, 2014). Unfortunately, to preserve "herd immunity" (if most people are immune, the pathogen has nowhere to go), an immunization rate of 95% is imperative to protect those who cannot get vaccinated (Clift, 2014). A lot of this fear has to do with baseless myths connected to flawed studies (Clift, 2014).

    I write this post not only because it is predicted that we are entering a pandemic era, and most of you reading this are aiming for a health profession of some sort, but also because I have a family member who has a permanent neurological disability due to lack of access to vaccines in her home country. She got meningitis, causing permanent nerve and brain damage. Recently, there have been five new diseases emerging in people each year. A lot of this is caused by climate change and the increased contact between wildlife and humans (Health, 2021). Additionally, we live around many individuals who can not afford the doctor if they get sick. We must be fully prepared to combat this to protect those who cannot get vaccines and the general whole.

Works Cited

Clift, K., & Rizzolo, D. (2014). Vaccine myths and misconceptions. JAAPA, 27(8), 21-25. 

Black, S., & Rappuoli, R. (2010). A crisis of public confidence in vaccines.

Miller, E. R., Moro, P. L., Cano, M., & Shimabukuro, T. T. (2015). Deaths following vaccination: What does the evidence show?. Vaccine, 33(29), 3288-3292.

Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. (n.d.). Common ingredients in FDA-approved vaccines. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/safety-availability-biologics/common-ingredients-fda-approved-vaccines

Health, T. L. P. (2021). A pandemic era. The Lancet. Planetary Health, 5(1), e1.

Philadelphia, T. C. H. of. (2024, July 23). Types of vaccine ingredients. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. https://www.chop.edu/vaccine-education-center/vaccine-safety/vaccine-ingredients/types-of-vaccine-ingredients#:~:text=Because%20vaccines%20are%20made%20from,%2C%20human%20proteins%2C%20and%20yeast.

Vetter, V., Denizer, G., Friedland, L. R., Krishnan, J., & Shapiro, M. (2018). Understanding modern-day vaccines: what you need to know. Annals of medicine, 50(2), 110-120.