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Vaccination
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Vaccination is a way to protect the body against a disease before it ever encounters it. It uses the natural defenses we already have, the immune system, to build resistance against a specific infection.
What is given is an antigen, the piece the immune system trains with. It can be a virus or bacterium that has been killed or weakened, it can be just one part of it, or it can be genetic instructions for our own cells to make that piece. It is a fire drill: the alarm goes off, but there is no fire. With that antigen, the immune system trains to produce antibodies, proteins the body makes naturally to fight the disease.
All of this happens without the disease appearing. Most vaccines are given as an injection, although some are taken by mouth and others are sprayed into the nose.
In brief
Vaccination protects against harmful diseases before exposure to them, using the body's natural defenses to build resistance to specific infections.
It delivers an antigen (a killed or weakened form of a virus or bacterium, part of one, or genetic instructions for making it) that trains the immune system to produce antibodies.
It is a fire drill: the alarm goes off, but there is no fire.
It does this without causing the disease; most vaccines are given by injection, although some are given by mouth or sprayed into the nose.
Sources (1)
- World Health OrganizationVaccines and immunization: What is vaccination?, WHOPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
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