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35 НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ • Листопад 2022 Ihor Magun, MD, FACP OUR HEALTH One of the greatest public health advances of the century has been the use of vaccinations. Immuni - zation practices in routine health care have provided control of dis - eases and prevented mortality. Despite all the positive aspects of vaccination, universal immu - nization has invariably remained an unattained goal. Vaccination describes the actual process of providing immunity, whereas immunization is just the administration of a vaccine. A booster literally provides a “boost” to a vaccine, making it more effective. Artificial induction of immunity mimics what we see in nature and is what helps us develop, improve, and expand our vaccine armamentarium. Approaches to vaccination follow specific guidelines based on the type of immunity needed and can take on multiple forms of admin - istration, including needle injec - tions, nasal sprays, and oral doses. Live vaccines use genetically altered organisms that are dra - matically attenuated yet provide the immune response needed. The immune system reacts well to the live vaccine and typically remembers the pathogen for a long period of time. An exam - ple is the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines. Immunizations, Vaccinations, Boosters – Oh, My! Taking a live pathogen and inactivating it manufactures inactivated vac - cines. The inactivated pathogen creates the desired immune response. Examples include the annual influenza vaccine. Toxoid vaccines use inactivated toxins to destroy toxic activity that a bacte - ria creates, basically causing a neutralization effect. An example is tetanus. Subunit vaccines are manufactured from a piece of a pathogen and do not contain any live component. Examples include the pneumococcal vaccine and shingles vaccine. Viral vector vaccine uses a harmless virus that delivers to cells a genetic code of the antigen (a molecule capable of inducing an immune response to produce antibodies in the host organism). This is capable of producing a strong immune response. An example is the COVID-19 Johnson & John - son/AstraZeneca vaccine. This is the vaccine method used for the Ebola virus as well. mRNA (messenger RNA), created in a laboratory, teaches cells how to make a protein that triggers an immune response inside our bodies. mRNA vaccines do not use any live virus. Once inside, they use the cell machinery to produce a harmless piece of what is referred to as the spike protein. This triggers our immune system to produce antibodies and ac - tivates other immune cells to fight off an infection. Examples include the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. Of note, researchers have been working with mRNA for decades. mRNA can be developed rather quickly in a laboratory using readily available materials. An additional benefit is the ability to produce large quantities in a relatively short time. Regarding booster vaccines, especially the recommended COVID-19 boosters, the virus has been able to mutate and produce strains that are more contagious, and the initial vaccine was not specifically targeted to - ward the new strains. The new mRNA booster targets these mutated strains and is highly recommended (provided you have already received the primary vaccine series). The immune system is complex, and despite all the new innovations there will always be questions and concerns. I sincerely hope this small review permitted you to have a better understanding of this ever-changing, interesting, and important topic. I hope you are up-to-date with all your vaccines regardless of your age.
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