Ministry of Health Discusses the Impact of Vaccines

The Ministry of Health has shared an article on its Facebook page regarding the development and distribution of vaccines.

“Learn more about vaccines from WHO's explanatory materials on how they are produced and how they work, ensuring safe and equitable access,” the ministry reported.

Microorganisms are everywhere — both in our environment and within our bodies. When a susceptible person encounters a pathogenic microorganism, it can lead to illness and even death. The human body has various ways to defend itself against disease-causing microorganisms (pathogens). The skin, mucous membranes, and cilia (the surface ciliated layer of the respiratory tract that removes foreign particles) serve as physical barriers to prevent pathogens from penetrating our bodies.

When a pathogen infects the body, it stimulates the body's defense mechanisms, known as the immune system, which attacks and destroys the pathogen or overcomes it. A pathogen can be a bacterium, virus, parasite, or fungus that can cause disease within the body. Each pathogen consists of several particles, which are typically characteristic of that specific pathogen and the disease it causes. The particle that induces the production of antibodies is called an antigen.

Antibodies produced in response to a pathogen's antigen are a crucial part of the immune system. They are considered the soldiers of our body's defense system. Each antibody or soldier is instructed to recognize a specific antigen. Our body contains thousands of other antibodies. When the human body is exposed to an antigen for the first time, it takes time for the immune system to react and produce antibodies specifically for that antigen. During this period, the individual is susceptible to the pathogen and may become ill.

After producing specific antibodies against a particular antigen, these antibodies work with the immune system to eliminate the pathogen and thwart the disease. Antibodies produced against one pathogen usually do not protect against another pathogen, except when two pathogens are strikingly similar, like twin brothers. When the body produces antibodies against a pathogen it encounters for the first time, it also creates memory cells that remain alive even after the antibodies have destroyed the pathogen. If the body encounters the same pathogen multiple times, the antibodies respond more quickly and effectively than the first time because the memory cells are already prepared to produce antibodies against that specific antigen.

This means that later, if a person encounters that dangerous pathogen, their immune system can respond immediately, protecting the individual from illness.

How vaccines help

Vaccines contain weakened or inactivated particles of a specific microorganism (antigen) that provoke an immune response in the body. New vaccines contain a program to produce antigens rather than the antigens themselves. Regardless of whether the vaccine is created from an antigen or contains a program for producing antigens, the weakened version does not cause illness in the vaccinated individual but will prompt the immune system to respond as it would during the first exposure to that pathogen.

Certain vaccines require multiple doses to be administered at intervals of several weeks or months. This is sometimes necessary to produce long-lasting antibodies and to form memory cells. By accumulating memory against the antigen, the body learns to combat specific disease-causing microorganisms so that it can rapidly eliminate them during subsequent exposures.

Collective immunity

When a person is vaccinated, the likelihood that they are protected from the disease increases. However, not everyone can be vaccinated. Individuals with health issues who have weakened immune systems (for example, those with cancer or HIV infection) or severe allergies to vaccine components may be unable to receive certain vaccinations. However, these individuals can be protected if they live in a vaccinated environment. When the majority of community residents are vaccinated, the pathogen has a harder time circulating because most people in the community are resistant to it. Therefore, the more people who are vaccinated, the less likely it is that those who cannot be protected via vaccination will be exposed to harmful pathogens. This is called collective immunity, which is particularly important for those who cannot be vaccinated and may be more susceptible to the diseases that vaccines target.

No vaccine provides 100% protection, and collective immunity does not offer complete protection to those who cannot be safely vaccinated. However, under collective immunity, these individuals will be significantly protected by the vaccinated individuals around them.

Vaccines protect not only the vaccinated individuals but also those community members who cannot be vaccinated. If you do not have a contraindication, get vaccinated.

Throughout history, people have successfully created vaccines against a number of life-threatening diseases, including meningitis, tetanus, measles, and polio. In the early 1900s, polio was widespread around the world, leaving hundreds of thousands disabled. By the 1950s, two effective vaccines against this disease had been developed. However, in some parts of the world, particularly in Africa, vaccinations were still not widely implemented enough to prevent polio. In the 1980s, a process was initiated for the global eradication of polio.

For decades, vaccinations against polio have been carried out across all continents, both as routine and mass campaign efforts. Millions of people have been vaccinated. In August 2020, the African continent received verification of free status from wild poliovirus, joining the rest of the world, except for Pakistan and Afghanistan, where polio has yet to be eradicated.