Importance of Vaccines, Vaccination and Immunization

Vaccination and immunization play a crucial role in protecting individuals and communities from infectious diseases. They help to stimulate the immune system and prepare it to recognize and fight off specific pathogens. Vaccination classes 6 and 12 are important topics frequently asked in examinations. In this article, we will read about the importance of vaccination, immunization, different types of vaccines, and their importance.

Importance of Vaccine, Vaccination and Immunization

What is Vaccine?

Definition: A vaccine is a substance that helps to stimulate the immune system and creates protection against specific diseases.

A vaccine is an artificially produced biological preparation that helps to stimulate the immune system and provides acquired immunity against specific infections or diseases. Vaccination is the process of administering vaccines to an individual’s body through oral, intramuscular, or intravenous shots or injections. Vaccination provides acquired immunity against the introduced antigen in the vaccine.

How Does a Vaccine Work?

Vaccination works by evoking an immune response against the introduced pathogen or its part called the antigen and providing acquired immunity against it.

First, the weakened or inactivated forms of the pathogen or pieces of the pathogen, such as proteins or sugars, stimulate the body’s immune response without causing the disease.

This leads to the production of antibodies against the specific antigen. These antibodies defend the body against the introduced antigen in the vaccine and produce memory cells to prepare the body for any secondary/subsequent exposure to the same antigen, thus building immunity against it.

What are the Types of Vaccines?

Vaccines are of several types based on their composition, mechanism of action, and production method. Here are some common types of vaccines:

• Live Attenuated Vaccines: These vaccines contain weakened forms of the disease-causing virus or bacteria that stimulate a strong immune response, providing long-lasting immunity. Examples include the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and the oral polio vaccine (OPV).
• Inactivated Vaccines: Inactivated vaccines contain viruses or bacteria that have been killed or inactivated using heat, chemicals, or radiation, they still stimulate an immune response that is not very long-lasting. Examples include the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) and the influenza vaccine.
• Subunit, Recombinant, and Conjugate Vaccines: These vaccines contain only certain parts, subunits, specific antigens, or proteins from the pathogen, rather than the whole organism. Subunits of the pathogen are then combined with conjugate carrier molecules to enhance the immune response. Examples include the hepatitis B vaccine (recombinant) and the Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib) vaccine (conjugate).
• Toxoid Vaccines: Toxoid vaccines contain inactivated toxins that are harmless but still stimulate an immune response against the toxin. Examples include the tetanus toxoid vaccine and the diphtheria toxoid vaccine.
• mRNA Vaccines: mRNA vaccines are a newer type of vaccine that use messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules to mount an immune response. mRNA vaccines include Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines.
• DNA vaccines: These vaccines use pathogenic DNA but are still under development

What is Vaccination?

Vaccination is the process or treatment with the vaccine to produce immunity against a disease. It utilizes body’s natural defences to build resistance to specific infections and makes immune system stronger.

There are many diseases for which vaccination is available. For example:

Vaccine	Constituent	Disease Prevented	Type of Vaccine	Administration Time
Covaxin	mRNA	Covid-19	Inactivated	Intramuscular
Hepatitis B Vaccine	RDNA	Hepatitis B	Subunit	Intramuscular-recommended within 24 hours of birth.
Polio Vaccine	Live attenuated Virus	Polio	Live attenuated	Oral
Varicella Vaccine	Oka/Merck Strain	Chickenpox	Attenuated	Subcutaneous

What is Immunisation?

Immunization is the process of getting a vaccine to protect yourself from certain diseases. It helps your body build up immunity so that if you come into contact with the actual disease, your immune system can fight it off more effectively. Vaccines contain weakened or inactive parts of the disease-causing organism, which stimulate your immune system to produce antibodies. These antibodies help your body recognize and fight off the disease if you ever encounter it.

Role of Immunization Programs

Immunization programs are very important to promote the development of acquired immunity in a population that targets diseases or infections. Immunization programs are important because

• Reduction of Morbidity and Mortality: Immunization programs reduce the chances of contracting of illness, hospitalization, and death associated with infectious diseases. Vaccines have been historically used in controlling diseases such as polio, measles, and tetanus, leading to significant reductions in morbidity and mortality rates worldwide.
• Protection of Vulnerable Populations: Immunization programs prioritize the immunization of vulnerable populations, including infants, young children, pregnant women, the elderly, and individuals with compromised immune systems and provide them protection.
• Herd Immunity: Immunization programs aim to achieve herd immunity or community immunity. This means when a sufficiently high proportion of the population is vaccinated it prevent the sustained transmission of a disease.

What is the Importance of Immunization and Vaccination?

Vaccines and Immunization plays a crucial role against diseases few of them are listed below :

• Disease prevention: Vaccines are one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. They help protect individuals and communities from illnesses that can cause severe complications or even death.
• Eradication of diseases: Vaccines have played a crucial role in eradicating diseases like smallpox and are working towards eliminating others, such as polio, smallpox.
• Herd immunity: Vaccination not only protects individuals but also helps create herd immunity. When a large portion of the population is vaccinated, it reduces the overall transmission of diseases, protecting those who cannot be vaccinated due to medical reasons.
• Safe and effective: Vaccines undergo rigorous testing and monitoring to ensure their safety and effectiveness. They are continuously evaluated for any potential side effects.
• Long-term cost savings: Vaccines can help reduce healthcare costs by preventing expensive treatments and hospitalizations associated with vaccine-preventable diseases.
• Global health impact: Vaccines have had a significant impact on improving global health, saving millions of lives worldwide.
• Protecting vulnerable populations: Vaccination is crucial for protecting vulnerable populations, such as infants, the elderly, and individuals with weakened immune systems.
• Individual protection: Vaccines boost our immune system, making us less susceptible to infections and reducing the severity of illnesses if we do get infected.
• Public health impact: Vaccinations have significantly reduced illness, hospitalizations, and deaths caused by vaccine-preventable diseases, leading to improved overall public health.

Conclusion: Importance of Vaccines, Vaccination and Immunization

Vaccines, vaccination and immunization are important for preventing the spread of diseasesand keeping us healthy. They provide protection against several diseases through immunity. There are many diseases which have been eradicated by the help of these techniques. Therefore vaccination has been helped historically, leading to the eradication or near-elimination of diseases such as smallpox and polio, etc. Though they have all the beneficial properties but can sometimes cause allergies to some people like redness , joint pain ,fever ,etc. for some time.

FAQs on Importance of Vaccines, Vaccination and Immunization

What do you Understand by Immunization?

Immunization is the process by which an individual develops immunity to a disease or infection due to the administration of a vaccine.

Who gave the term Vaccine and What was the First Vaccine Developed for?

The term vaccine was given by Edward Jenner and the first vaccine was developed for the cowpox.

What is the Importance of Immunization Class 10?

Immunization is crucial for protecting individuals and communities from infectious diseases by stimulating the immune system to develop immunity. It helps prevent outbreaks, reduces the burden of illness, and saves lives by providing long-term protection against various diseases.

What are the Five Types of Immunization?

The five types of vaccines used in vaccinations are toxoids, mRNA vaccines, subunit/recombinant vaccines, live attenuated, and killed vaccines

How is the Difference between Vaccination and Immunization?

Vaccination is the process of getting a vaccine while immunization occurs as a result of vaccination where an individual develops immunity after getting vaccinated. 

What is Vaccination Class 8?

Vaccination is the process of administering a vaccine to stimulate the immune system to develop immunity against a specific disease. It helps the body recognize and fight off infections more effectively, reducing the risk of illness and complications.

What are the Benefits of Vaccine?

The benefits of vaccines include preventing infectious diseases, reducing the spread of diseases within communities, protecting individuals who cannot be vaccinated, and contributing to the eradication or control of deadly diseases.