Administration of vaccines to stimulate the host’s immune response. This includes any preparation intended for active immunological prophylaxis.
Administration of a vaccine—a preparation containing modified microbes (bacteria or viruses) or toxins that aren’t strong enough to cause diseases yet can still stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies against diseases. The term is often used interchangeably with immunization.
A medical procedure through which specially prepared antigens are introduced into the body for the purpose of activating the immune system.
The action of vaccinating someone.
Introduction of attenuated (weakened) or killed viruses or microorganisms (or occasionally of substances extracted from these agents) into the body to induce immunity by causing the production of specific antibodies. Vaccination has eradicated smallpox throughout the world; has decreased the incidence of poliomyelitis and diphtheria to very low levels in North America and Europe, and is also available against other diseases, including measles and mumps.
The process of stimulating the body’s immune system to develop long-term protection against, or immunity to, certain diseases without actually having the disease. Introducing an inactivated form of specific disease-causing organisms stimulates the immune system to produce antibodies to fight the specific disease-causing organisms when a person is exposed to them.
A means of producing immunity to a disease by using a vaccine, or a special preparation of antigenic material, to stimulate the formation of appropriate antibodies. The name was applied originally only to treatment with vaccinia (cowpox) virus, which gives protection not only against cowpox itself but also against the related smallpox. However, it is now used synonymously with inoculation as a method of immunization against any disease. Vaccination is often carried out in two or three stages, as separate doses are less likely to cause unpleasant side-effects. A vaccine is usually given by injection but may be introduced into the skin through light scratches; for some diseases, oral vaccines are available.
Named from vacca, Latin for cow, vaccination means inoculation with the material of cowpox, performed to afford protection to the inoculated person against an attack of smallpox, or to reduce seriousness of, and averting a fatal result from, any such attack. The term is often used, inaccurately, to refer to immunization.
Inoculation with any vaccine or toxoid to establish resistance to a specific infectious disease.
Originally the practice of inoculating with a vaccine to prevent smallpox. This was done by introducing into the bloodstream a preparation of cowpox virus (vacca is Latin for cow). In 1798 a British doctor, Edward Jenner, became the first to establish the practice when he showed how people inoculated with cowpox not only became immune themselves to the dreaded smallpox but were also prevented from spreading the disease to others. The idea behind inoculation is that introduction of a dilute preparation of a harmful organism encourages the system to produce antibodies that fight off the infection. Prior to inoculation, plagues and deadly diseases killed millions all over the world, especially young children with less immunity than adults. Now we know that even animals can be inoculated against their own specific ailments.
Interestingly, this widely practiced, beneficial scientific procedure derives from another that is still considered pseudoscientific by some, namely Homeopathy. About the time that Jenner was developing the smallpox vaccine a German physician, Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843), proposed a seemingly similar system of medicine called homeopathy, meaning “like disease.” This goes back to the fifth-century B.C.E. Ancient Greek principle, Hippocrates’ “law of similars.” The law states that disease should be treated by administering an exceedingly small, dilute dose of a substance that, used full-strength, would induce dis¬ ease symptoms in a healthy person similar to those being treated. For example, quinine was used to cure malaria because the effects upon a healthy person of administering quinine resemble malarial symptoms. Although homeopathy superficially resembles the practices of vaccination and immunization, orthodox doctors find it difficult to accept the homeopathic notion that the greater the remedy’s dilution, the greater its effectiveness. This appears inconsistent with medical observations that only a substantial or strong dose of a harmful organism induces the immune system to produce antibodies. Although there have been a few scientific trials, the results have been disputed because of the placebo effect the patient’s belief in the cure rather than the efficacy of the cure itself.
The process of administering a deceased or attenuated microorganism via injection aims to stimulate the immune system, triggering a response against the specific microbe and effectively preventing the onset of disease. Referred to as vaccinations or immunizations, this method operates by activating the body’s natural defense mechanism, known as the immune system. A robust immune system possesses the ability to identify invading viruses and bacteria, subsequently producing antibodies that neutralize or eliminate them. Vaccinations equip the immune system to effectively combat potential illnesses. In the case of viral diseases, the vaccine employs weakened or inactivated forms of the virus.
Immunization takes the shape of introducing a vaccine into the body, containing weakened or deceased microorganisms or deactivated bacterial toxins. Typically administered through an injection, this vaccine serves to sensitize the immune system. This sensitized immune system then swiftly generates antibodies to neutralize disease-causing agents or toxins of the corresponding kind, should they invade the body at a later time.
The administration of vaccinia virus to confer immunity against smallpox.
The introduction of any microorganism to stimulate immunity against a specific infectious disease.