Vaccine history

The term ''vaccine'' was derived from the Edward Jenner's 1796 use of the term ''cowpox'' (Latin ''variolæ vaccinæ'', adapted from the Latin ''vaccīn-us'', from ''vacca'' cow). He was the pioneer of using cowpox vaccines to prevent smallpox infections.

There are several diseases like Diphtheria, whooping cough (pertussis), measles, mumps, Yellow fever, smallpox and German measles (rubella) that are unfamiliar to many these days. However, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, these illnesses struck hundreds of thousands of people worldwide and among these most were children. These illnesses killed tens of thousands of people. Today these diseases are all but forgotten. This change has happened largely because of vaccines.

What are vaccines made of?

A vaccine is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease. Traditional vaccines contain either parts of microbes or whole microbes that have been killed or weakened so that they don’t cause disease.

When a person is inoculated with these preparations, the immune system confronts these harmless versions of the germs. The immune system quickly clears them from the body.

In turn the body remembers the germs so that later in life when it encounters the real live virulent germs it may be able to fight it off with the retained memory against the particular germ.

Types of vaccines

Some vaccines are prophylactic and are used to prevent or ameliorate the effects of a future infection by any natural or "wild" pathogen. Some vaccines, however, may also be therapeutic for example cancer vaccines that are being developed against cancer.

Vaccine Benefits

Once a person’s immune system is trained to resist disease, the person becomes immune to it. Before vaccines, the only way to become immune to a disease was to actually get it and, with luck, survive it. This type of immunity against an illness is called naturally acquired immunity, wherein the person has to suffer the symptoms of the disease and also risk the complications, which can be quite serious or even deadly. In addition, if the disease is contagious it may also be passed on to family members, friends, or others who come into contact.

Vaccines, which provide artificially acquired immunity, are a much safer way to become immune. Vaccines can prevent a disease from occurring in the first place and also decrease the risk of complications and risk of transmission. It is much cheaper to prevent a disease than to treat it.