The document discusses the role of vaccinations in boosting the immune system to protect against various infectious diseases, particularly in vulnerable populations like infants and the elderly. It outlines the vaccination process, ideal vaccine characteristics, potential side effects, and vaccination schedules for children, adolescents, and adults. Additionally, it highlights the limitations of current vaccines against certain diseases such as HIV, TB, and malaria.

1. vaccinations
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2. Introduction
 Human bodies are equipped with their own kind of immunity
system to counteract the attack of different infectious viruses,
bacteria and fungi.
 However, sometimes this immunity system is not strong enough
to face certain attacks especially when the attack from external
sources is more severe.
 This is truer in cases of young children, patients and old people
who have low immunity.
 That is why; medical science has developed vaccines to protect
your body from certain diseases that can make you disable, sick
or even can kill you.

3. Boosting Defence System
 Vaccines work by boosting the defence system of your body.
 They protect your body from infection without letting you
suffer any symptoms related to that particular disease.
 For different reasons, the vaccines are sometimes also termed
as shots, needles or immunizations.
 During the process, a bacteria or virus is deliberately injected
into your body so that your immune system prepares
antibodies to fight against such infections in the future.

4. Babies and Passive Immunity
 Nature has its own way of immunizing newborns from specific
diseases.
 The infants are naturally protected from several diseases such
as rubella, mumps and measles as the antibodies required to
counteract these diseases are already passed on to them
through the placenta of the mother.
 Immunity developed in this way against a particular disease is
known as passive immunity.

5. Diseases with No Vaccine Protection
 The immune system of human body comprises of two units-
cell-mediated immunity and antibody mediated immunity.
 The major development in the field of vaccination has been
made in the last five decades.
 Most of these vaccination processes protect your body by
stimulating the potent antibody response within the body.
 Diseases that are caused due to such hiding pathogens include
HIV, TB and malaria.
 Since no effective vaccine has yet been developed to prevent
these diseases millions of people globally succumb to each
year to either of these diseases.

6. What is the Ideal Vaccine?
Ideally a vaccine should have following features:
 It should be absolutely safe causing no side-effects
 It must be easily available and can be manufactured cheaply
 It should be stable for transport or storage
 It should be easily administered
 It is available for the infants alongside several other childhood
vaccines
 It should offer long-term protection against the disease

7. Making of Vaccines
 The first step in the preparation of a vaccine is making of an
organism or pathogen that causes the disease
 Usually this organism is a bacterium or a virus
 These are mass produced in a laboratory by infecting the cells
that are grown in the tissue culture
 It is very important to alter the pathogen so that it does not
cause the disease.
 The alteration process can be carried out either by attenuating
or weakening the pathogen by making it grow repeatedly so
that a strain that is produced is less dangerous
 Other alteration methods include using the only part of the
pathogen that triggers off immune response or making use of
the toxin that creates these pathogen and inactivating it

8. How Does Vaccination Works?
 Vaccines carry a small amount of the germ that causes disease
and usually this germ is dead or weak.
 Hence, such germs cannot make you sick. There are certain
vaccines that do not contain any germ at all.
 Presence of this little bit of germ in the vaccine stimulate your
immune system to build up antibodies so that when similar
kind of germ attacks your body, the antibodies can fight
against them and protect you.
 Your body prepares antibodies in two conditions: when you
get the disease or through vaccine. The best way is to get
vaccinated and stay protected without having to go through the
painful experience of the disease.

9.  Antibodies last long and also have a memory and hence they
remember when and how to fight when the germs attack.
 In some cases your body may need a booster dose to remind it
about how to ward off those disease causing germs.
 Some vaccines offer protection against only one disease
whereas some vaccines offer combined protection against two
to three diseases such as the MMR vaccine that offers
protection against Mumps, Measles and Rubella.

10. How Long the Effect of Vaccination Does
Lasts?
 There are several vaccines that offer protection against a
particular disease for life.
 But the effect of the vaccine also depends upon the person to
whom it is given.
 Similarly, how long the effect will last depend upon the type
of disease, the effectiveness of the vaccine and also the person
vaccinated.
 There are certain vaccines that provide protection of high
levels such as the MMR vaccine that offers 90 percent
protection.
 On the other hand some vaccines such as the typhoid vaccine
offer only 70 percent protections and are effective only for
three years.

11. What are the Side Effects of Vaccination?
 Fatigue
 Headache
 Tenderness, redness, pain or swelling at the site of injection
 Nausea
 Fever
 Mild rash
 Fainting or dizziness
 Mild rash
 In some cases, there can be certain unusual side effects such as
weakness, high fever or changes in behavior.
 Especially in infants and small children serious allergic
reactions such as hives, breathing difficulty, wheezing,
hoarseness, fast heartbeat or paleness can be observed

12. Vaccination Schedule for Children
Vaccination Name Age in
weeks/months/
years
Disease Remarks
HEP B Vaccine-I At the time of birth Hepatitis B
Oral PV 0 Dose At the time of birth Polio
PCV, Hib, Rota 2nd
month Influenza Type B,
Pneumococcal
conjugate vaccine,
Rotavirus
BCG From birth to six
months
Tuberculosis
HEP B Vaccine-II 4 to 6 weeks Hepatitis B
DPT-I OPV-I 6 weeks Diphtheria, Polio,
Pertusis
Tetanus
DPT-II OPV –II
HEP B
10 weeks Diphtheria Special
recommendation by
Delhi Govt.

13. DPT-III OPV-III HEP
B Vaccine IV
14 weeks Diphtheria, Polio,
Pertusis Tetanus
Special
recommendation by
Delhi Govt.
PCV, Hib, Rota 4th
month Influenza Type B,
Pneumococcal
conjugate vaccine,
Rotavirus
HEP B Vaccine III,
PCV, Hib, Rota
24 weeks Hepatitis B, Influenza
Type B,
Pneumococcal
conjugate vaccine,
Rotavirus
Recommendation by
IAP
OPV-IV Measles 9 to 12 months Polio, Measles
MMR, Hib, Varicella,
PCV
15 to 18 months Mumps, Measles,
Rubella
DPT-Booster I OPV-V 18 months Diphtheria, Pertusis
Tetanus, Polio
Recommended by IAP
and Delhi Govt.
Typhoid 24 months Typhoid Recommendation by
IAP
DPT Booster-II OPV-
VI
4 to 5 years Diphtheria, Polio,
Pertusis Tetanus

14. Vaccination Schedule for Adolescents
Name of the Vaccine Age for which vaccination
recommended
Human Papillomarvirus (HPV) 11 to 12 years
Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertusis (Tdap) 11 to 12 years
Meningococcal conjugate vaccine
(MCV4)
11 to 12 years (first dose),
13 to 18 years (second dose)
Influenza Yearly
Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine Only on recommendation
Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Inactivated Polio
Vaccine (IPV), MMR, Varicella
12 to 18 years

15. Vaccination Schedule for Adults
Name of the Vaccine Age for which vaccine recommended
Influenza (flu) Every year
Diphtheria, Tetanus,
Pertusis ( Tdap) or
Diphtheria, Tetanus (Td)
Tdap-once on reaching adulthood
Td-once in every 10 years
Varicella (Chickenpox) Two doses if not immunized during adolescence
Otherwise One dose
HPV-Human
papillomarvirus
Three doses before the age of 26 years including the ones
administered during adolescence
Zoster (shingles) Single dose after reaching 60 years

16. Measles, Mumps, Rubella
(MMR)
Two doses if not immunized during adolescence
Pneumococcal For the people above 65 years of age, especially for
people who come under high risk or chronic
diseases or illnesses
Hepatitis A Two doses, especially in patients under high risk
Hepatitis B Three doses, especially in patients under high risk
Haemophilus influenza type b
(Hib)
One to three doses depending upon whether
immunized during young age or as a child

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