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Vaccination

Introduction

Vaccination is defined as the process of injecting an antigenic material so as to enhance and stimulate the immune system against a disease or pathogen. Vaccination has become an effective method of protection against a number of diseases. With the passage of time, vaccination has become crucial to maintaining the health f the humans and other living creatures. It has proved to be a safe, efficient and cost-effective method to prevent sickness (Public health agency of Canada, 2012).

Discussion

How a Vaccine Works

Vaccine that is injected in the body takes advantages of the body's natural ability to fight against any germ that can cause a disease. The body usually takes a week's time to become able to fight against any unfamiliar germ.

Usually, the vaccine contains either part of microbes (germs) or whole microbes that have been inactivated. Since they are inactivated, or killed, their injection in the body does not cause the disease. When the immune system of the body confronts these inactive germs, then it easily and quickly clears them off from the body. The idea behind this is that although the immune system has encountered the germs, but at the same time it has learned how to eliminate such germs that cause disease.

Thus the immune system encounters inactive germs, defeats them and learns how to eliminate it if confronted in future (World health organization, 2012).

The History of Vaccination

The history of vaccination is quite old. It is said that vaccination started in order to fight against the disease that is known as small pox. Edward Jenner was a physician who had been practicing in England. More than 200 years earlier, made use of vaccination for the first time against a disease named smallpox. A related disease that is less serious ...