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Most people are aware of vaccine shots, but did you know that there are actually four types of vaccines?
Seek out the bad guy, kill it, keep people safe and healthy, repeat.
Sounds like a movie about superheroes and villains. In a way, this is true. Only in this case, antibodies are the superheroes; viruses and bacteria are the villains. They are a specialized type of soldiers within your immune system, working to keep you healthy.
Antibodies are called to action only when they are alerted by the immune system that danger is near. For example, you come into contact with bacteria that causes the flu. Once bacteria enter your body, the immune system produces antibodies, instructing them to find the bacteria and eliminate it.
The more training the immune system and antibodies have, the stronger they become. The problem is that to get the necessary training; the antibodies need germs to fight. Because humans don’t go out of their way to contact germs, scientists found a better way to help the immune system get the training it needs: they created vaccines.
What Are Vaccines?
Vaccines are essentially a weaker version of a disease. For example, a flu vaccine is made out of the flu, but it has been transformed into a strain meant for training, not infecting. This transformation takes place in a lab, at the hands of scientists.
The theory behind a vaccine is that the more exposure your immune system has to a virus, the better it becomes at fighting it off. Instead of waiting around for natural exposure, your immune system can start learning how to protect you immediately with a vaccine. It’s a preventative measure.
The World Health Organization reports immunization saves between two and three million lives every year. Vaccines not only prevent you from getting a disease, but it can also keep you from passing on a disease from you to someone else with a weakened immune system.
There are four main types of vaccines created to help train your immune system for fighting off germs.
1. Live-attenuated Vaccine
The term attenuated is a synonym for weakened. Therefore, vaccines that are considered live-attenuated contain a live version of a virus that has been weakened, making them perfect teachers for those with healthy immune systems. Those with already weak immune systems are not recommended for this type of vaccine.
Measles, mumps, and chickenpox vaccines are examples of live-attenuated.
These types of vaccines work so well that most people only need one or two doses to last them a lifetime of protection.
2. Inactivated Vaccines
When discussing vaccines, the term inactivating can also mean something is killed. When scientists are creating inactivated vaccines, they kill the germs during the process. This doesn’t mean they don’t work, however. Inactivated vaccines fight viruses and bacteria very well.
Multiple doses may be needed simply because they are not as strong as live-attenuated vaccines. An example of an inactivated vaccine is the polio vaccine. Others include:
- Rabies
- Hepatitis
- Flu shots
3. Subunit, Recombinant, Polysaccharide, and Conjugate vaccines
Okay, so there are four vaccines listed for a third type. This can be easily explained. They are created in the same manner, using specific pieces of a germ.
Subunit vaccines are sometimes called acellular. They use subunits of the germ or smaller parts of the virus or bacterium. You may be familiar with the DTaP vaccine, the one used for whooping cough. This is an example of a subunit vaccine.
Recombinant vaccines are made with yeast or bacterial cells. A small piece of DNA is extracted from the germ. We want the immune system to fight. For example, if training the immune system to fight off the shingles infection, a small DNA piece will be taken from the shingles germ. That piece of DNA is inserted into cells where they can grow and then be transferred into yeast to be used in a vaccine.
Recombinant vaccines also include:
- Hepatitis B
- HPV
- Meningococcal disease
Polysaccharide vaccines are inactivated subunit vaccines. They are made up of sugar molecules that form a long chain. This type of vaccine is especially important in protecting you against pneumococcal disease.
The pneumococcal disease doesn’t sound so bad at first. It mainly causes ear and sinus infections. But upon closer look, if left untreated, this disease can quickly lead to pneumonia, meningitis, bacteremia, and sepsis.
Conjugate vaccines. The term conjugate means connected or joined together. This germ type can be sneaky because it houses an outer coating, protecting the antigen by disguising it. This makes it hard for antibodies to recognize it. It is a real villain. But not one that can’t be killed.
Scientists created conjugate vaccines that train the immune system to seek out this outer coating. Once found, they connect to them and then attack. One example of a conjugate vaccine is the Hib vaccine. Hib stands for Haemophilus influenzae disease. Especially for children, Hib can be dangerous, which is why it is essential for children to get immunizations beginning at a young age. When it creates ear infections, it’s not so scary. When it becomes a blood infection, it can be deadly.
4. Toxoid Vaccines
Some bacterial diseases produce toxins in the body unless you have taken a toxoid vaccine. Weakened toxins are called toxoids and help train your immune system to fight parts of a germ that produce poisons.
The toxins you get in this type of vaccine are inactivated, so you never have to worry that you are getting live toxins injected into your system.
When you get a tetanus shot, you are getting inactive tetanus toxoids. When you get a diphtheria shot, you get those inactive toxoids. The DTap shot is a result of this.
Even though we have just experienced the COVID19 pandemic, it’s helpful to know there are still many types of vaccines and ways to protect ourselves against the more common viruses out there. It’s like having a secret weapon to fight the bad guys. In this case, the more common viruses and bacteria in existence.
If you have more questions about any of the vaccines available, reach out to us today. We can help.
