Question

1. How is the vaccine produced (in less than 200 words)? And when was the vaccine first produced?
2. When is the recommendation for the administration of the vaccine (for example: once in a person's life, usually at 6 months of age)?
3. What is the "success rate" of the vaccine?

Answer 1

Vaccines are complex biological products with lengthy manufacturing and control processes. Process of vaccine manufacture includes three steps :-

• Inactivation
• Purification
• Formulation

In the first step, the virus or microbe is grown either on primary cells such as chicken eggs or on cell lines or cultured human cells. Bacteria or viruses may further be weakened using chemicals so that they can't replicate themselves at all. In the second step, the isolated antigen is purified. The weakened viruses do not require any further purification. The third step involves combining of purified antigens with adjuvants, preservatives, stabilizers etc. The role of the adjuvant is to enhance the immune response of the antigen. The stabilizers increase the storage life, and preservatives allow the use of multi dose vials.

The first vaccine was produced by Edward Jenner in the year 1796. The vaccine was made against the smallpox virus.

Most of the vaccine adminstration is recommended at 6 months of age. Some of the examples are Diptheria vaccine, Hepatitis B vaccine, Polio vaccine etc.

No vaccine is 100% effective, but its its administration does helps in reducing the risk of certain illnesses by introducing dead or weakened versions of disease causing germs (bacteria or viruses) to the immune system. The success rate of vaccine is effective for about 85% to 95% of recipients.

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