Vaccinations have always helped every person who is vaccinated. Vaccinations have prevented numerous illness and disabilities since the time of their invention. Some diseases such as whooping cough, mumps, and measles still a pose huge threat though they can be prevented through vaccines. Many children in United States are suffering and being hospitalized, resulting in deaths every year due to this threat. I support vaccinations because they are safe, very effective, and any child who is vaccinated develops an immunity to fight illness faster than a child who is not vaccinated. Vaccines are thoroughly tested for safety and continuously monitored, even when they are announced. This paper discusses the importance of vaccinations, its advantages and their use on children and adults of all ages.
Types of Vaccinations
Currently the four types of available vaccines are Live virus vaccine, Killed (inactivated) vaccines, Toxoid vaccines, and Biosynthetic vaccines . The Live virus vaccine uses the faded form of virus which is given to avoid diseases such as mumps, measles, rubella and chicken pox. The Killed (inactivated) vaccines contain protein or parts of bacteria or virus and help in creating the vaccine for flu. The Toxoid vaccines are made from chemicals or toxins extracted from a virus or bacteria. The tetanus and diphtheria vaccines are example of Toxoid vaccine. The biosynthetic vaccines contain bits of virus or bacteria similar to manmade substances, for example the Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type B) conjugate vaccine.
For a microbe, there can be many choices in designing a vaccine, which are based on the information available on the microbe such as its infection level and response of bodily immunity towards the microbe. Depending on these conditions the other types of vaccines that are designed are Subunit vaccines, DNA vaccines and Recombinant vector vaccines.
Vaccinations for Adults
It is a good practice to get immunized at any age as it is a life-long process that protects life. Vaccinations must also be done for adults and these vaccines start at the age of 19, and can be given up to the age of 65 and above depending on the medical condition of the person, previous vaccinations, fitness, way of life, profession and travel destinations. Vaccinations can protect the adults from hepatitis A and hepatitis B, serious liver infections that can spread through sexual contact and the Human Papillomavirus Vaccination (HPV) vaccine is available to men and women up to age 26 .
Advantages of Vaccination. Effective vaccination leads to a tremendous decrease in childhood deaths. The best possible method to protect against serious diseases is to get immunized. When sufficient people are immunized against an infection, it is very tough for the infection to spread to those who are not immunized. Protecting enough people from such infections is known as herd immunity, or population protection. Oral vaccines have major advantage of being easy to administer, not requiring physicians or nurses, and being free to the risk of needle-borne infections . The DNA vaccines are known to have many theoretical advantages over conventional vaccines such as stability and ability to be transported at room temperature, reduced reactogenecity and ease of production.
Discussion. Some parents are still hesitant to vaccinate their child as they do not like see their child being injected with needle, and some parents of young adults are afraid to vaccinate their children for any sexually transmitted disease as they believe that it is like giving them permission to have sex. People need to be educated about the benefits of vaccination because the load of infective diseases globally remains high, especially in developing countries. Technology is developing to use the existing vaccines in various ways, and generate new vaccines.
References
MayoClinic. (2015, September 15). Vaccines for adults: Which do you need? Retrieved from MayoClinic: http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/vaccines/art-20046750
MedlinePlus. (2015, July 07). Vaccines (immunizations) - overview. Retrieved April 07, 2016, from U.S. National Library of Medicine: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002024.htm
Plotkin, S. A., Orenstein, W. A., & Offit, P. A. (2012). Vaccines (Illustrated ed.). Elsevier Health Sciences.
