What is a vaccine and how do vaccines work?


Vaccine is a substance introduced into your child's body to prepare your child to fight off specific germs or diseases. Traditionally, vaccines are weakened or killed form of virus or bacterium. The newer vaccines are cloned to induce similar immune response with fewer side effects. During childhood, young children are exposed to plenty of germs or microorganisms which are present not only in the environment but also throughout their bodies.

Vaccines, in shot forms (some vaccines are inhaled or swallowed), when injected into the body will begin a process of building up resistance against the germ. Each vaccine is designed to contain a different form of the microorganism which is chosen because of its ability to stimulate the infection without the risk of the disease itself. The immune system is then given the opportunity to fight the disease by making antibodies that recognize the exact germ. When the child is exposed to the wild type of germ later, the memory cells are activated to prevent the sickness from settling in. In this way your child is immunized from the disease and is spared from going through with the symptoms of the disease and becoming ill.