Vaccines have been the most discussed topics in recent days as doctors advise us to get vaccinated for COVID-19 infection at the earliest. Vaccines serve to protect our body from infection by strengthening the immune system and generate antibodies. To raise the immunity power against the deadly novel coronavirus, vaccines from different brands are available, all serving a similar purpose. Few vaccines require two doses while there are vaccines that generate sufficient antibodies within a single dose. Here we share a detailed overview of how vaccines work and why you should get vaccinated against coronavirus.
WHAT IS A VACCINE?
Vaccines are mostly administered to people via injections while a few are given orally too. The human immune system has memory cells that remember the pathogen so that when a similar pathogen attacks in future, it gets killed instantly, keeping the body safe from infection. Hence, administering a vaccine means introducing the killed/weakened form of a particular germ to the body so that the immune system recognizes it and creates antibodies accordingly. In other words, vaccination strengthens the immune system and body’s resistance against specific germs/pathogens for which is the vaccine is administered. Thus when a vaccinated person comes in contact with the particular germ, the immune system attacks the germ and kills it, protecting the vaccinated person from being infected.
HOW DOES THE VACCINE WORK?
To understand the working mechanism of a vaccine, you must first understand how the human immune system functions. Vaccines develop acquired immunity in the body. When a pathogen attacks your body, the subpart of the pathogen known as antigen triggers an immune response against it. Via vaccine, either the antigen gets introduced to the body or the blueprint for the production of the antigen. Either way, only a dead or weakened form of antigen is introduced for the immune system to recognize the antigen and produce an immune response and an antibody specific to that antigen. There are several antibodies produced in the human body against several different antigens. However, an antibody for a particular antigen/pathogen will not work against other pathogens unless the two pathogens are very much similar to each other.
Along with the antibody, the immune system also creates an antibody-producing memory cell that stores the immune response against the pathogen along with the procedure to nullify its effect. Memory cells stay alive even after the pathogen gets killed. Next time when a similar pathogen attacks the body, the memory cell traces the pathogen and facilitates a faster immune response and antibodies to kill the pathogen instantly. Thus the immune response becomes faster and more effective upon successive attack by a pathogen. Thus vaccines train your immune system to generate a faster immune response and kill the pathogen instantly.
WHY ARE MULTIPLE DOSES OF VACCINE NECESSARY?
You might think that when one dose of vaccine triggers the immune system and develops antibodies, why are the subsequent doses required?
Multiple doses or two doses of the coronavirus vaccine are administered with a gap of few weeks to facilitate the development of long-lived antibodies and memory cells so that you stay safe for an extended time against the virus.
HOW DO VACCINES HELP?
- Vaccines reduce the risk of infections by a considerable rate.
- Sometimes there are chances that people might get infected before receiving the second dose of vaccine. In such cases, the first dose does its work, and if you observe, the person recovers faster from the diseases, rather than someone who has not received even a single dosage of vaccine.
- When a maximum of the people in a community gets vaccinated against a particular pathogen, herd immunity gets developed. Herd immunity also protects people in the society to whom vaccine cannot be administered, such a those with a weakened immune system, suffering from severe ailments, young babies, etc.
- Thus vaccines not only protect the individual but also the people around.
Have you received your dose of the corona vaccine? If not, hurry up! Get vaccinated at the earliest to protect yourself and the people around you. Also, wear personal protective equipment for maximum protection against all the germs in the atmosphere. Visit PPE Zones, one of the best PPE suppliers in California, USA to buy facemasks, isolation gowns, bouffant caps and GClean sanitizer wipes. Health must be your priority and hence stay safe from infections.
