Vaccine

A vaccine is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism, and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe. The agent stimulates the body's immune system to recognize the agent as foreign, destroy it, and "remember" it, so that the immune system can more easily recognize and destroy any of these microorganisms that it later encounters.

What are Vaccines?

There are several diseases like Diphtheria, whooping cough (pertussis), measles, mumps, Yellow fever, small pox and German measles (rubella) that are unfamiliar to many these days.

Vaccine History

What is a Vaccine Breakthrough?

What are the Main Causes of Vaccine Hesitancy?

Vaccine Schedule

Vaccine Effectiveness

Vaccination in Humanitarian Settings

Plant-Derived Vaccines

Vaccine Production

Vaccine Excipients

Vaccine Delivery

Vaccine Immunity

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Hib Immunization

History of Vaccination

How are Vaccines Stored?

What are the Different Types of Vaccines?

What is a Subunit Vaccine?

What is an Inactivated Vaccine?

What is a Live-Attenuated Vaccine?

What is a Toxoid Vaccine?

What is an RNA Vaccine?

What is a DNA Vaccine?

What are Adenovirus-Based Vaccines?

What is a Non-Replicating Vaccine?

What is a VLP Vaccine?

What are Nanoparticle-Based Vaccines?

The Future of Vaccines

Latest Vaccine News and Research

Topical antiseptic Acriflavine inhibits SARS-CoV-2 and other betacoronaviruses

A new study, published in the journal Cell Chemical Biology, has reported the discovery of acriflavine (ACF), an effective inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2. This drug is a mixture of trypaflavines (3,6-diamino-10-methylacridinium chloride and 3,6-diamino-3-methylacridinium chloride) and proflavine (3,6-diaminoacridine).

16 Jan 2022

Cannabidiol may improve innate immune response against SARS-CoV-2

A recent study shows evidence that cannabidiol, an important active ingredient in the Cannabis sativa plant, can augment the antiviral innate immune response and prophylactically prime the innate antiviral response of cells – enabling in turn improved response against viruses such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

16 Jan 2022

UK donates COVID-19 vaccines to Uganda to help tackle the pandemic

Five million of these doses are being offered to the COVAX Facility to ensure equitable, global access to COVID-19 vaccines.

16 Jan 2022

Asymptomatic COVID-19 patients less infectious than symptomatic patients

Researchers investigate the progression of infection in students and employees who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 at Boston University.

16 Jan 2022

As omicron surges, effort to vaccinate young children stalls

Two months after Pfizer's covid vaccine was authorized for children ages 5 to 11, just 27% have received at least one shot, according to Jan. 12 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Only 18%, or 5 million kids, have both doses.

15 Jan 2022

Exploring waning vaccine effectiveness over time

New research provides strong evidence against waning protection against symptomatic disease from both ChAdOx1-S and BNT162b2, but points out that protection against hospitalization and death remains at much higher levels for at least 20 weeks post-vaccination.

14 Jan 2022

BNT162b2 COVID vaccine 94% effective against adolescent hospitalization

A recent study revealed the effectiveness of 93% for the BNT162b2 vaccine against COVID-19 hospitalization among adolescents (12 to 18 years). This study included 179 patients at 19 sites in 16 states. The same group of researchers have extended their analysis to 31 locations in 23 states across the U.S. and recruited 266 more patients who had been hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 infection.

13 Jan 2022

Multiple sclerosis may be caused by infection with the Epstein-Barr virus

Multiple sclerosis (MS), a progressive disease that affects 2.8 million people worldwide and for which there is no definitive cure, is likely caused by infection with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), according to a study led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health researchers.

13 Jan 2022

New advertising campaign encourages young people to get COVID-19 booster jabs

A new advertising campaign to encourage 18 to 34 year olds to get their vital COVID-19 booster jabs has launched as uptake among young people is lower than other age groups.

13 Jan 2022

COVID-19 vaccination breakthrough infections in a real-world setting

Researchers describe the pattern and characteristics of infections after COVID-19 vaccination.

13 Jan 2022

Insignificant homology of SARS-CoV-2 spike sequences to myocarditis-associated antigens

Researchers determine whether sequences within SARS-CoV-2 could lead to an immune response to autoantigens associated with autoimmune myocarditis.

13 Jan 2022

Analysis of COVID vaccine breakthrough infections in highly vaccinated Israel

Researchers evaluated and modeled age-structured cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection, SARS-CoV-2 vaccination coverage, and breakthrough infections.

13 Jan 2022

Flu vaccines can be lifesaving for children, study shows

A new CDC study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases (CID) shows that flu vaccination protected children against serious flu illness even when they were infected with a flu virus that was antigenically different from the vaccine virus.

13 Jan 2022

People with COVID-19 can end self-isolation after 5 days following 2 consecutive negative LFD tests

From Monday, 17 January, people with COVID-19 in England can end their self-isolation after five full days, as long as they test negative on day 5 and day 6.

13 Jan 2022

Study confirms waning immunity in adolescents following two doses of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines

Researchers test the durability of antibodies produced by a vaccine-induced full-length SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and receptor-binding domain.

13 Jan 2022

Government funding supports national effort to vaccinate vulnerable communities

Community Vaccine Champions from Bradford to Brighton will be tapping into their local networks and encouraging people in their community to come forward and get vaccinated.

13 Jan 2022

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Dealing with drug prices

Medicare officials have preliminarily decided to restrict reimbursement for Aduhelm, the controversial Alzheimer's drug, to only patients participating in approved clinical trials.

13 Jan 2022

Justices block broad worker vaccine requirement, allow health worker mandate to proceed

The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked a key Biden administration covid-19 initiative — putting a stop, for now, to a rule requiring businesses with more than 100 workers to either mandate that employees be vaccinated against covid or wear masks and undergo weekly testing.

13 Jan 2022

What patients can learn with confidence from one negative rapid test (hint: very little)

Julie Ann Justo, an infectious disease clinical pharmacist for a South Carolina hospital system, hoped Christmas week would finally be the time her family could safely gather for a reunion.

13 Jan 2022

Harmful effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant women and their newborns

Pregnant women should get vaccinated to minimize the detrimental health effects COVID-19 has on the placenta, the fetus and the newborn, states Roberta L. DeBiasi, M.D., M.S., division chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Children's National Hospital in an editorial published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.

13 Jan 2022