Post by Admin on Feb 24, 2018 4:12:13 GMT
Immunisation is the term used for the process of becoming immune to disease. It protects people against specific diseases by using the body’s natural defence mechanism – the immune response.
What is a vaccination?
A vaccine is the material used to induce immunity against infectious diseases. Vaccination refers to the act of giving a vaccine to a person.
How do vaccines work?
Vaccines help develop immunity by imitating an infection. We come into contact daily with people in many different settings, for example at schools and shopping centres, and during this contact it is easy for infectious diseases to be transmitted. The greater number of people immunised, the less risk of people becoming infected and spreading the disease to others.
Who benefits from vaccines?
In the short term, immunisation protects individuals from a specific infectious disease and its immediate complications. But immunisation may also have long-term protective effects – from cancer and other chronic conditions.
An important feature of immunisation is that it also benefits the entire community. When a significant proportion of individuals in a community have become immune to a specific disease through immunisation, people who are still susceptible to the disease are less likely to come into contact with someone who is carrying the infectious agent.