Immunity through Vaccination

(Health, Wellness and Awareness 106: Image by Bruno /Germany from Pixabay)

As defined by Merriam's Webster Dictionary, "Immunity is the quality or state of being immune especially a condition of being able to resist a particular disease especially through preventing the development of a pathogenic microorganism or by counteracting the effects of its products". Thus immunity plays an important role in our health and wellness. In my topic for today, I'm going to share how immunity through vaccination has gone through the course of our time.

Throughout our lifetime, there were times that our body suffered a disease such as fever, flu or others. Sometimes, we would think that what caused our sickness is just restlessness, or fatigue, but the most predominant thought about this thing is that most diseases are caused by bacterias or viruses thanks to the modern age spread of knowledge through the efforts of those scientists who laid the foundations of such information. 

We are so lucky nowadays I think when we talk about the awareness of the cures and even the prevention of certain diseases. This is because, in ancient times when science is not yet known to civilization, a disease that inflicts a person is believed to be caused by evil spirits. Until the revolutionization in science which led to understanding what truly caused diseases came to existence. This paved the way to the invention of vaccines - the elixir of immunity.

( Health, Wellness and Awareness 106: Image from the National Library of Medicine photographic archive - a representation of Robert Seymour on the cholera epidemic in the 19th century)

A vaccine is a harmless or dead version of a virus that enables the immune system to know the virus and create the necessary antibodies so that when the true virus enters the body, it cannot do significant damage to the cells, thus immunity is achieved. The first successful vaccination for immunity was done on May 14, 1796, by an English physician named Edward Jenner to an 8-year-old boy named James Phipps. It was a vaccine against smallpox.

(Health, Wellness and Awareness 106: Dr Jenner performing his first vaccination on James Phipps, a boy of age 8. May 14th, 1796. Painting by Ernest Board (early 20th century)

In today's generation, many vaccines are already used and injected to babies to gain immunity such as Flu Vaccine, Polio Vaccine, Measles Vaccine, etc. However, there are some countries around the world that do not mandatorily require vaccination as their national policy. Immunity is very important. Sometimes, it can mean the difference between life and death.