What are Vaccines?
Vaccines are special medicines that help protect our bodies from dangerous diseases. They work by training the body’s immune system (the body’s defense system) to recognize and fight specific germs, like viruses or bacteria, that cause illness. Vaccines usually come as injections (shots) but can also be in the form of oral liquids or nasal sprays.
How Do Vaccines Work?
When you get a vaccine, it contains tiny parts of a germ, or a harmless version of it. This does not make you sick but teaches your body to recognize and attack the real germ if it ever enters the body. It’s like teaching your immune system how to recognize and fight a bad guy before he actually shows up.
Why Are Vaccines Important?
- Prevent Diseases: Vaccines protect people from serious diseases like measles, polio, flu, and COVID-19. They help prevent outbreaks and reduce the spread of these diseases.
- Protecting the Community: Vaccines don’t just protect you—they help protect the people around you too, especially those who cannot be vaccinated, like babies, elderly people, or those with weak immune systems. This is called herd immunity.
- Eradicating Diseases: Thanks to vaccines, some diseases, like smallpox, have been completely eliminated from the world. Vaccines help prevent diseases from spreading and make the world a safer place.
Types of Vaccines
- Routine Vaccines: These are vaccines that children get when they are born or at early stages of life (like for measles, mumps, or chickenpox).
- Travel Vaccines: These are for diseases found in other parts of the world (like yellow fever or malaria) and are recommended before traveling to certain countries.
- Seasonal Vaccines: These are vaccines given regularly, such as the flu shot, to protect against diseases that are common during certain seasons.
Summary:
Vaccines are safe and effective medicines that protect people from serious diseases by helping the body’s immune system recognize and fight harmful germs. They play a key role in preventing diseases like measles, flu, and COVID-19, and also protect the wider community by creating herd immunity. Vaccines have helped eliminate some diseases completely and continue to keep people safe and healthy around the world.
