The vaccine is a preparation of antigens to promote the formation of antibodies and generate an immune response.
Vaccine is a term with different uses and applications. On the one hand, it refers to what belongs to or relates to cattle , that is, to cows . For example: "This jacket has been made with the best cowhide" , "Agricultural activity is suffering from the fall in the price of beef, which has reached its lowest level in fifteen years."
On the other hand, a vaccine is an organic principle or a virus that, prepared in a certain way, is inoculated into a person or an animal to protect it against a specific disease .
The vaccine in medicine
A vaccine is a preparation of antigens , which is a substance that allows the formation of antibodies and has the ability to generate an immune response within the body. This attack response allows the development of an immunological memory that generally produces permanent immunity against the disease.
Any human being needs certain vaccines to avoid being infected with diseases or pathologies of various kinds; However, the people who require it the most are newborns. Thus, it is common that in the first months of life they have to undergo vaccine injections to avoid being infected with measles , meningitis , mumps or poliomelitis , among other problems.
The COVID-19 vaccine was key to reducing the effects of the pandemic .
Travel requirement
In the same way, we must highlight the fact that, on many occasions, when traveling to certain areas of the globe it is necessary to carry out a certain vaccination to avoid being infected and infected with diseases that proliferate in those places in question.
Thus, for example, every Spanish citizen who makes the decision to travel to South Africa will need to be vaccinated against yellow fever and malaria. While if the destination is Thailand , where you are going to play sports or temporarily reside in rural areas, it is recommended that travelers be vaccinated against malaria and also receive tetanus and rabies vaccines.
Historical development of vaccines
The first vaccine in history would have been created by the English rural doctor Edward Jenner in 1796 , who discovered that cowpox immunized people from suffering from human smallpox , which was much more serious and deadly.
Over time, various vaccines emerged to counter diseases such as rabies (1882), plague (1897), tuberculosis (1927), yellow fever (1935), influenza (1945), measles (1964), rubella (1970), chickenpox (1974), meningitis (1978) and hepatitis A (1992), among many others.
All this without overlooking that among the most recent vaccines, those of the 21st century , are the human papillomavirus that appeared in 2005; a first vaccine to end cocaine and heroin addiction that was released in 2008; In 2009 the first vaccine against the famous influenza A made its appearance; and closer in time, the COVID-19 vaccine.
A distinction can be made between the inactivated virus vaccine (made up of harmful microorganisms that, when treated with chemicals or heat, lose their ability to harm), the attenuated live virus vaccine (with microorganisms grown under conditions that make them lose their harmful properties), the toxoid vaccine (has inactivated toxic components from microorganisms) and subunit vaccine (includes fragments of microorganisms), among others.
The effectiveness of the vaccine depends on each case.
Other considerations
It is important to indicate that immunization can have different characteristics. Acquired immunity occurs when the immune system reacts to the presence of a foreign substance. If the subject receives the antibodies directly (through breast milk, for example), we speak of passive immunity ; On the other hand, active immunity is developed by the body after exposure to the substance or microorganism. A vaccine, then, promotes active immunity.
The vaccination calendar is the scheme planned by the State to take care of public health through mass vaccination of the population. Sometimes booster doses may be included to improve the effectiveness of the vaccine: therefore, a differentiation can be made between a single-dose vaccine and a multiple-dose vaccine .
This vaccination scheme promoted by governments refers to mandatory vaccination . Vaccines such as COVID-19, on the other hand, are part of voluntary vaccination campaigns .
It is always important to consider the contraindications of the vaccine . Health authorities usually carry out extensive investigations to determine whether there may be an adverse reaction to the vaccine and which population groups are most susceptible to them.
Regardless of this issue, certain precautions must be taken with all vaccines to protect the health of citizens. One of them is taking care of the cold chain when refrigeration of vaccines is essential.