Immunization is the artificial confirmatory resistance to infectious diseases. It is the acquisition of specific immunity to a particular disease by injecting antigen or antibodies. Immunization induces a “primed state” in the patient such that on the first contact with the relevant infection, a more rapid effective secondary immune response will be mounted leading to prevention of disease. The vaccine is used for immunization and it's a biological substance that provides specific immunity to an individual. Vaccination is like a “cram” course i.e forced to study by memorization for the immune system making it possible to recognize and fight off the potential invasion by hostile microbes. Vaccination depends on the ability of the B and T- lymphocytes to respond to specific antigen and develop into memory cells, thereby representing a form of actively enhanced adaptive immunity.
Oh! the purpose of the general immunization was to prevent the pupils from disease and block transmission, meaning that the authorities wanted to attain herd immunity but the pupils had serious fever symptoms at least for three days preventing them from going to school. Although the fever itself was not harmful but my son was feeling uncomfortable and unwell and I also became worried as I am aware that excessive and persistent fever can cause convulsion which if not properly managed can lead to some neurological deficit. I also had my fair share of the discomfort from the sleepless night during this period. Let me put this question to you, was the aim really achieved?
To answer this question, we should understand the types of vaccines available and the properties of a good vaccine.
• The live attenuated vaccines: These vaccines are made from living organism which are either the disease causing organism whose virulence has been reduced by attenuation or organisms of a specie that is related to the causal agent but which are naturally less virulent. Examples of these vaccines include the varicella vaccine (chicken pox), Rotavirus vaccine (nasal spray), measles mumps and rubella vaccines (MMR) etc. This may revert to wild type, if the vaccine is not properly kept.
• The Inactivated vaccines: These vaccines are derived from killed microorganisms and this is achieved through physical or chemical processes but they elicit weak immune response.Non living vaccine may not revert to wild type but the injection is usually painful Examples include the Polio vaccine and Hepatitis A vaccine.
• Toxoid: These vaccines are based on the activities of protein-based toxin produced by certain organisms. The toxin is inactivated or harmless (toxoid) and used as the antigen to elicit immunity. Examples include tetanus and diphtheria vaccine.
A good vaccine should have the following properties:
Effectiveness: A good vaccine must be able to induce an adequate response of the right type. For instance, a pure antibody response will be useless against T.B while a pure cell-mediated response will be useless against Streptococci pneumonia, in another instance, high level of serum antibody may be irrelevant to mucosal protection against polio while the activation of cytotoxic T-cells may be positively harmful in Hepatitis.The duration of response is very important in specific cases for example, short term protection will be achieved where the vaccine merely induces the presence of antibody. On the other hand, for the long term protection memory cells will be required and they will be needed for protection at some time in the future. Living vaccines induce stronger and more lasting immunity than non-living vaccine.
Safety: A good vaccine must not induce damage in the people vaccinated considering that vaccine is the only compounds routinely administered to perfectly healthy people. There should be rigorous safety testing requiring extensive quality control and animal testing.
Stability: Stability refers mainly to live attenuated vaccine, but because of the sensitivity of vaccines to temperature, it has been directed by WHO, that all vaccines should be kept in cold chain. This means that the vaccine doses should remain active right from the manufacturer to the time of administration into the human and this can be achieved by the maintenance of an unbroken cold chain. Wao! with the erratic supply of power in Nigeria! Could this have been the problem? Was there reversion of the vaccine administered to it's wild type?
The cost must be relatively low or cheap enough for all individuals concern.
Beneficial or detrimental? I leave you to answer this, but I decided to prevent my children from subsequent immunization programs, although a good argument may make me have a change of mind.
Thank you for reading, expecting your answers, solutions, comments, and votes.
