Pertussis Vaccines: A Case Study

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A vaccine is a way to introduce a weakened microbe to an organism’s immune system so that they can begin to make the antibodies/antigens needed in order to protect their body from a future attack. When an organism is given a vaccine that vaccine enables an immune response that can occur when a more severe case of the microbe enters the body and because the organism was introduced to a weakened state of the microbe it has built and immunity or antibodies to fight off the more severe microbe. A vaccine makes it so that the organism’s immune system is able to recognize the microbe if it enters the body again. When the majority of a population is vaccinated they develop an immunity called herd immunity. In herd immunity, when the majority of a population has been vaccinated for a certain disease they are able to protect the people who may not have been able to receive the vaccine, such as infants or immunocompromised people. Herd immunity is important for effective protection because when the majority of people of immuned to a disease it makes it harder for the disease to spread. There are some general strategies to …show more content…
It works by being introduced to the host’s immune system and allowing that host to build an immune response to the inactive bacteria so that it can respond the same way to future attacks. It is administered in a single shot in the arm with two other vaccinations. DTaP is an abbreviation for diphtheria, tetnus toxoids and pertussis vaccine and Tdap is the same abbreviation as DTaP but the lower case d and p mean smaller doses of both vaccines ("Center for Young Women's Health."). The pertussis vaccination is very effective and the Tdap version for adolescents and adults protects about seven out of ten people who receive the vaccines and the DTaP version for children is effective for eight or nine out of ten children who receive them ("Long-term Effectiveness of Whooping Cough