Explained: Here's all you need to know about vaccines and how they work
The government decided to expand the Covid-19 vaccination drive and opened it for everyone above 18 years of age, starting May 1. The tsunami of coronavirus infections is about to engulf the nation and the only way we can be saved from this disaster is by breaking the chain of transmission.
India is currently witnessing an unrelenting surge in Covid infections. People should get vaccinated as soon as they can, Dr Sanket Jain, pulmonologist Consultant, Masina Hospital, said.
Here are all your questions answered:
Why is vaccination important?
The act of administrating the vaccine into the body is termed as vaccination. Vaccination is a simple and safe way of protecting people against the harmful disease before they come into contact with them. About 20 diseases such as polio can be prevented by vaccination.
How do vaccines work?
Vaccines are biological preparation – When administered stimulate a person to produce antibodies against infectious agents in a similar way as it does when it’s exposed to a disease. If we are exposed to such a virus in the future – Our immune system responds and can quickly destroy it.
Here’s how it works:
1) It recognizes the invading antigen (organism), such as the virus present in vaccination.
2) Produces antibodies to fight organisms.
3) Remembers the organism.
4) In the future, if a person is exposed to such an organism the immune system responds and can quickly destroy it.
(Antibodies are proteins produced by the body to neutralize or destroy toxins or disease-carrying organisms. Antibodies are specific for particular disease)