Vaccines are made using various methods, all aimed at introducing a safe form of a pathogen (virus or bacteria) to the body, triggering an immune response without causing illness. This response prepares the body to fight off the real pathogen in the future.
Vaccine Production Methods:
Manufacturers employ several key approaches to produce vaccines:
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Live Attenuated Vaccines: These vaccines use a weakened version of the actual pathogen. Manufacturers isolate the pathogen and grow it in a lab until its ability to cause disease is significantly reduced. [Reference: Manufacturers isolate the pathogen and grow it in a lab until the pathogen loses its ability to cause disease. They select the weakest ones and reproduce them to put in the vaccine. Live attenuated vaccines can produce a strong immune response, which can mean both long-term immunity and a higher chance of side effects.] While effective in creating long-lasting immunity, they pose a slightly higher risk of side effects.
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Inactivated Vaccines: These vaccines use a killed version of the pathogen. The pathogen is inactivated (killed) using heat, chemicals, or radiation, rendering it unable to replicate or cause disease.
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Subunit, Recombinant, Polysaccharide, and Conjugate Vaccines: These vaccines use only specific pieces of the pathogen, such as proteins or sugars, that stimulate an immune response. These components are either extracted from the pathogen or produced using genetic engineering techniques. [Reference: Vaccines contain tiny fragments of the disease-causing organism or the blueprints for making the tiny fragments. They also contain other...]
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Toxoid Vaccines: These vaccines use inactivated toxins produced by the pathogen. They are used for diseases where the toxins, not the bacteria itself, cause illness.
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mRNA Vaccines: These vaccines utilize messenger RNA (mRNA) to instruct the body's cells to produce a harmless piece of the pathogen. This piece then triggers an immune response. [Reference: Not mRNA vaccines. Instead, mRNA vaccines use mRNA created in a laboratory to teach our cells how to make a protein—or even just a piece of a...]
The Vaccine Development Process:
The development of a new vaccine is a complex and lengthy process, often taking 10-15 years [Reference: The path to disease prevention – the development of a novel vaccine – is a complex and lengthy process that generally takes 10 to 15 years.], and involves several stages:
- Discovery and Pre-clinical Research: Scientists identify potential vaccine candidates and test them in laboratory settings.
- Clinical Trials: Rigorous testing on humans in three phases to assess safety and effectiveness.
- Regulatory Review and Approval: Submission of data to regulatory agencies (e.g., FDA in the US) for approval.
- Manufacturing and Distribution: Large-scale production and distribution of the vaccine.
Many vaccines, such as flu vaccines, utilize egg-based manufacturing processes. [Reference: The most common way that flu vaccines are made is using an egg-based manufacturing process that has been used for more than 70 years.] Other methods, like cell-based production, are also employed.
