Vaccines Save Lives

Image by Dorit Rubinstein Reiss

This is one of the many articles I will be writing as I go through the journey of nursing school. Health is very important for everyone, and I would like to share my findings.

This particular essay is all of my research on vaccines. The history, the ingredients, debunking recent myths, recent outbreaks, and how vaccines have changed the lives of many Americans.

Vaccines Save Lives, Savannah Sanders, May 2019

Vaccines have become a controversial topic and has recently become the headlines of the media, a topic that many people are afraid of. The question is, do we get vaccinated and vaccinate our children, or not? Because of myths and people who are simply not educated in physiology, some people have opted out of getting vaccinated and vaccinating their children. This has caused outbreaks of certain diseases. Despite the recent controversy, vaccines have been proven to save lives and will continue to. As long as people continue to get vaccinated.

History of Vaccines
Edward Jenners is said to be the first person to come up with the idea of vaccination. However, people have been curing diseases through immunity as early as 1000 CE. China and India found a way to create an immunity against Smallpox by crushing up the scabs of a Smallpox victim and inhaling the particles into their nose. For centuries more diseases have plagued areas all over the world. Smallpox, whooping cough, the plague, and typhoid fever are just some of the infectious diseases that have killed thousands of people. It wasn’t until Jenner had a breakthrough. Jenner tested his hypothesis that an infection of small particles of Cowpox could protect someone from Smallpox. He was right. Jenner infected a patient with small particles of Cowpox from a cow and the patient built an immunity against Smallpox. Benjamin Waterhouse took Jenners Cowpox vaccine to the states and successfully prevented smallpox in many children. That is when news spread about the new protection from Smallpox. In the 1800, all the way from Russia, to India, and to the United States, the Smallpox vaccine was saving thousands of lives. The method of harvesting vaccines from the cells of animals or by growing pathogens in animals continued for half of the 20th century. However, not all disease grow well in animal bodies and not all animal cells are safe for humans. The method of culturing human cells to harvest vaccines is now recommended.

Vaccines and the Human Body
The human body has an incredible system called the immune system. The immune system is how you protect the body from dangerous pathogens and diseases. The immune system has two main jobs, to fight infections and then to remember those infection (create immunity). The fist part of the immune system is called the innate immune system. The innate immune system is the first defense for the body. The skin, body temperature and the immune cells all defend the body. If the pathogen makes it past the defenses, it will trigger the adaptive immune system. The adaptive immune system will release B cells and T cells. In short, B cells travel in the lymph system and are one of the memory cells, they remember surface antigens, bacteria and viruses. If someone is ever infected by a pathogen that they once already built an immunity to, the B cells will automatically know this, and will be able to kill the pathogen before it harms the body. There are three different types of T cells, memory T cells, helper T cells and killer T cells. Helper T cells are the messengers for the immune system, they produce a chemical that informs the Killer T cells to hunt and destroy a pathogen. The memory T cells are similar to memory B cells because they can remember how to kill a certain pathogen that once infected the body, but their job is to deal with viral antigens outside the infected cell.
Vaccines go hand in hand with the immune system. Humans have developed vaccines to use the immune system to remember certain pathogens to create an immunity, without being sick from the pathogen first. Because of the helper T and B cells, vaccines are able to inject a small amount of the cultured virus or bacteria (as well as other chemicals I will mention further on), these cells will remember how to fight the pathogen if the human body ever comes in to contract with the pathogen.

The Chemical Components of Vaccines
When making decisions about health, it’s important to know as much information possible. When considering vaccinations, its important to know what the chemical components of these vaccines are. The CDC (Centers for Control and Disease Prevention) has a list of every vaccine and their component listed on their website, (a copy of the ingredients is listed at the bottom of this article.) What are the main components that are in most vaccines? And what does the CDC thinks that everyone should know? The CDC specifies that “Chemicals are added to vaccines to inactivate a virus or bacteria and stabilize the vaccine, helping to preserve the vaccine and prevent it from losing its potency over time.” And “The amount of chemical additives found in vaccines is very small.” (U.S Department of Human Services. July, 2018)
Vaccines have a base composed of suspending fluid, usually sterile water or saline. Vaccines also contain a very small amount of culture material used when growing the pathogen in the lab. Common additives include, Aluminum as a gel or salt of aluminum, this helps the vaccines respond better through stimulation. Antibiotics are used in some vaccines to prevent any growth of unwanted bacteria. This is used during production and the packaging of the vaccines. Egg protein is used in yellow fever and most influenza vaccines, people who can eat eggs can receive this vaccine. Formaldehyde is used to kill other unwanted bacteria’s in the vaccine and inactivate bacteria’s as well. Formaldehyde is removed from the vaccine before it is packaged and is not injected into he human body. Monosodium Glutamate is another component in a few vaccines. MSG helps stabilize the vaccine when introduced to light, heat, acidity, or humidity. Thimerosol is a preservative that contains mercury. This is added to the bottles of vaccines that have multiple doses to prevent harmful growth of bacteria. The CDC also added that “All routinely recommended pediatric vaccines manufactured for the U.S. market are available in formulations that contain no thimerosal or only trace amounts.” (U.S Department of Health and Human Services. July, 2018)

Myths About Vaccines
The reason that there is a big controversy on vaccines is because of some myths that people believe to be true. One of the main myths around in the media is vaccines cause autism. This myth was started by Andrew Wakefield, a British surgeon. Wakefield published an article in 1997 suggesting that the MMR vaccines was the cause for the increase of autism. His article was completely discredited by false experiments and ethical violations. Wakefield lost his license because of this article. Many more experiments have been done since Wakefields accusations and none of them found a link between autism and any vaccines. Another common myth is the worry about infants immune systems being overloaded with the amount of vaccines given. The government published an informative response to this “Based on the number of antibodies present in the blood, a baby would theoretically have the ability to respond to around 10,000 vaccines at one time. Even if all 14 scheduled vaccines were given at once, it would only use up slightly more than 0.1% of a baby’s immune capacity. And scientists believe this capacity is purely theoretical. The immune system could never truly be overwhelmed because the cells in the system are constantly being replenished. In reality, babies are exposed to countless bacteria and viruses every day, and immunizations are negligible in comparison.” (Public Health.gov, 2019).
Heard Immunity and Recent Outbreaks
One other myth I will talk about is the misconception that people do not need to vaccinate because infection rates are already low in the United States. Hear immunity is an important factor of why infection rates are low. A large portion of people who get vaccinated is what causes the infection rates to be low. Because of heard immunity, a disease doesn’t have a chance to spread.
Because of the myths and the media’s negative remarks about vaccines, people are not vaccinating themselves or their children. This has caused a huge problem. In just 2019 alone, 555 people have been infected by measles already this year. Compared to 372 in all of 2018. The CDC says that there are two causes for this. The first one being an increased number of travelers bringing measles to the U.S. The second, is because the lack of people vaccinating has cause measles to spread.

Recent Outbreaks
Recently, in response to the controversies, vaccines have been being used less and less by many people. This has caused outbreaks of certain diseases. One of those diseases is Measles. In 2019 , there has been 704 confirmed cases of measles in a total of 22 states. With an increase of 78 cases each week. This is the greatest number of cases being reported since 1994. Measles where declared eliminated in the year 2000. The CDC states that the more measles cases are occurring because of travelers who are getting measles abroad and bringing it to the U.S and unvaccinated communities in the United States. The measles can be very harmful to children, people with weakened immune systems and the elderly. Common symptoms of the measles are a high fever and a rash inside the mouth and all over the body. It is also common that measles can cause a fever of 104.0 degrees Fahrenheit.
Another recent disease outbreak is Mumps, which is part of the MMR vaccine. In 2019 alone, 41 states have had confirmed cases with a total of 736 cases. Before the U.S started vaccinating against mumps it was an estimate of 186,000 total cases each year in the U.S. Since the use of vaccinations, the amount of cases seen each year have gone down 99%. Until 2006 when a steady increase of cases has been reported every 5 years. The Mumps can be less harmful then other infections however, they can still harm people with a weakened immune system and children because of the high fever associated with this infection. The Mumps symptoms usually only last 16-18 days and are associated with a common cold, such as a headache, fever, muscle aches, and tiredness. People who have the Mumps could also have no symptoms and not know that they are infected, this is why the infection can also be dangerous to unvaccinated children. Heard immunity can stop the spread of this infection to people who can not be vaccinated do to medical reasons and who have weak immune systems.
Chickenpox is a very infectious diseases caused the the varicella-zoster virus. Chickenpox symptoms are associated with fever and itchy bumps that cover the entire body of an infected individual. The CDC states that “Chickenpox can be serious, especially in babies, adolescents, adults, pregnant women, and people with a weakened immune system. The best way to prevent chickenpox is to get the chickenpox vaccine.” (CDC, 2019). In 1995 the Chickenpox vaccine became available in the United States saving people lives. The CDC also stated that “In the early 1990s, an average of 4 million people got chickenpox, 10,500 to 13,000 were hospitalized, and 100 to 150 died each year.” (CDC,2019). Even though the unites states has a vaccine for Chickenpox, people still are being infected by this virus today, but the amount of individuals becoming infected have lowered.

Hepatitis B Virus
One controversy associated with vaccinating infants is the Hepatitis B vaccine. Some people do not see the necessity for getting their newborn baby vaccinated for a diseases that they don’t have and don’t expect their babies to get. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a serious diseases that causes liver diseases and can later lead to liver cancer. So, why is it important to get you newborn baby vaccinated for HBV? HBV can spread though blood and other body fluids. Once a person is infected with HBV, it will forever remain in their bodies. You may be asking yourself “my child isn’t going to be using intravenous drugs and having unprotected sex, why do they need this? Well, HBV can be passed not only by having sex and sharing needles, it can be passed by saliva as well. Common ways that children get HBV is from the birth by a mother with HBV, being bitten by another infected person, touching open sores or cuts of an infected person, sharing a toothbrush, and eating food that was chewed up for the baby to eat by an infected person. With a little explanation, it is easy to see how children can get infected by HBV. The virus itself can also last 7 days on an object, even without the presence of body fluids of blood.

Thanks to Vaccines
Something worth mentioning is some infectious diseases that have been eliminated from the United States because of the use of vaccines. Rubella is a virus that was eliminated from the united sates in 2004. Rubella isn’t prevalent in the United States, but there is many outbreaks in other countries of the world. Because of this, there is a chance rubella can be spread to the United States by unvaccinated travelers.
Polio is a extremely deadly virus that killed 35,000 people in the Unites States each year. This was until the Poliovirus vaccine was introduced. The United States have been free from polio since 1979. Poliovirus directly effects the body by spreading to the brain and spinal cord of the infected individual. Poliovirus is still at large in other countries because of lack of resources for vaccinating people, such as Asia and Africa. Because of scientist and their hard work creating the Polio vaccine, and parents vaccinating their children, the United States has been free of Polio for 30 year.
Another virus that has been eliminated from the United States is Smallpox. Because of Smallpox, 3 out of 10 individuals would die from being infected. Because of Edward Jenner’s breakthrough the last individual to die from being infected with Smallpox was in 1978. Eradication of smallpox was declared on May 8th 1980 and the CDC quotes “Eradication of smallpox is considered the biggest achievement in international public health.”(CDC, 2019).

Conclusion
Vaccinations are important for the health of children and adults. Vaccines save lives. Accounting to the CDC, Public health, and other government agencies, vaccines are safe and a great part of modern medicine. The chemical components in vaccines are safe and there are other options to get vaccines that do not have the preservatives at an ingredient. Vaccines have been around for many years and have been the savior for many children, adults, and the elderly. The media and some people are not educated about vaccinations, but the body is meant to use the immune system and can handle vaccinations, even infants. Those myths sound scary, but they have been debunked by scientist, published by the government, and there is an explanation for all of them. So please, understand why vaccinations are important to the lives of other, including those who can not get vaccinated because of medical reasons, heard immunity saves lives and has been the breakthrough for eliminating some infectious diseases in the United States. Having an immunity to infectious diseases is such an amazing gift and has created a safe environment that other people don’t get to experience in other countries.

References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A Polio Free U.S, Thanks to Vaccine Efforts. 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/features/poliofacts/index.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About Chickenpox. 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/chickenpox/about/index.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hepatitis B and the Vaccine (Shot) to Prevent it. 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/diseases/child/hepb.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. History of Smallpox. 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/smallpox/history/history.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Measles Cases and Outbreaks. 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/measles/cases-outbreaks.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Measles Signs and Symptoms. 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/signs-symptoms.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mumps Cases and Outbreaks. 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/mumps/outbreaks.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mumps Signs and Symptoms. 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/mumps/about/signs-symptoms.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rubella in the U.S. 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/rubella/about/in-the-us.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Understanding How Vaccines Work. (Adapted from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Understanding Vaccines https://www.niaid.nih.gov/research/how- vaccines-work) July, 2018: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/conversations/downloads/vacsafe-understand-color-office.pdf
Clem, Angela. Fundamentals of Vaccine Immunology. Journal of Global Infectious Disease. 2011. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3068582/
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Vaccines and immunizations. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. July 12, 2018. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/additives.htm
Public Health. Vaccine Myth Debunked. Health Guides. 2019. https://www.publichealth.org/public-awareness/understanding-vaccines/vaccine-myths-debunked
The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. The History of Vaccines. 2019 The College of Physicians of Philadelphia: https://www.historyofvaccines.org/timeline#EVT_102203