Childhood immunizations

All vaccines work by using an antigen either obtained or modified from a protein or other component of a bacteria or virus (called a vaccine antigen) to induce either a controlled infection or a simulated infection, depending on the type of the vaccine. A small amount of killed viral particles or bacterial toxins are injected into a person and the immune cells fight off an antigen, not knowing that the antigen cannot actually cause the disease since it is killed or inactivated, or not a whole cell. Then when this person encounters the actual virus or bacteria for which immunization has occurred, the immune cells respond using memory from the prior infection, which wasn’t really an infection at all, but just a simulation of one. Vaccines are a way to boost or intensify a person’s natural immunity against a specific antigen. Various childhood illnesses can be prevented by these vaccines. The most common vaccines in childhood are: Diphtheria and Tetanus Toxoids and Pertussis; Haemophilus influenzae Type b Conjugate; Hepatitis B; Chicken Pox (Varicella); Polio; Hepatitis A; Pneumococcal; Measles, Mumps, and Rubella; Rotavirus; and Influenza.