These world-changing medical technologies use our body's natural defense systems to protect us against disease and sickness. Check out the internet's best resources on the history of vaccines, how they're developed, and much more.
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The body needs a few weeks after the vaccine to build up a sufficient antibody response, which eventually wanes. Scheduling the vaccine accordingly can maximize its effectiveness when flu season ramps up.
Hundreds of scientists had worked on mRNA vaccines for decades before the coronavirus pandemic brought a breakthrough.
Some vaccines, like those for measles, rely on weakened versions of a virus. These weakened pathogens are introduced into the body, triggering an immune response and helping the immune system learn to protect itself against stronger versions of the virus. (This also explains why some vaccines make you feel under the weather.)
Each year, thousands of horseshoe crabs are captured from the mid-Atlantic coast, taken to a lab, and partially drained of their blood. The goal? Amebocytes. This type of immune cell is exceptionally sensitive to the presence of bacterial endotoxins. Endotoxin molecules are released from the cell walls of certain bacteria—like E. coli—upon the bacteria's death and are toxic to humans once they enter the bloodstream. The cells have become vital in checking for contamination in vaccines.
Before the technology behind vaccinations was discovered, some keen observers of medicine around the globe noticed how previous infections could impact future ones. Learn about the techniques early physicians used before they had vaccines.
The number of infected people, measured over 70-some years and across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, declined significantly after vaccines were introduced.
mRNA COVID-19 vaccines were developed faster than any vaccine ever made. Even more enticing, the underlying technology may unlock preventive treatments for a wide-range of diseases.
An adenovirus helps prime the immune system to fight the coronavirus.
Antibodies are protective proteins produced by your immune system. They attach to antigens (foreign substances) and remove them from your body. Understand this important element of the immune system with this quick overview.
As viruses mutate and develop, vaccines have to adapt, leading to regular recommended injections like flu shots. Researchers are working to develop universal vaccines that aim to protect against multiple virus variants if not entire virus families. These vaccines work by creating broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) that target aspects of viruses that don't typically mutate and are integral to the virus' survival.
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