Vaccines Are An Important Step To Prevent Disease, This Is How It Works
Vaccines are medical actions whose goal is to prevent disease, not cure it. That’s why vaccines are very important to be given to everyone before they are infected with certain diseases. However, vaccine administration is an issue that is quite often questioned by people. The reason is, many do not understand what vaccines are or how vaccines work in the body. For that, consider the important explanation about vaccines below.
What is a vaccine?
The human body has an immune system (immune system) which functions to protect the body from attack by foreign organisms such as viruses or bacteria. The way it works is by sending certain cells to fight disease-causing germs that attack. However, the immune system can weaken at certain times, so it is not strong enough to fight disease. That’s why a vaccine, aka immunization, is made.
Vaccines are biological “weapons” that are used to help the human immune system fight disease. Vaccines are made from weakened or dead disease-causing microbes, or agents that contain certain toxins or proteins.
Even though it is made from microbes, aka germs, you don’t need to doubt its safety. The reason is, as explained above, the microbes in the vaccine are weak or dead so they will not cause the disease itself in the human body.
How vaccines work
The way vaccines work is by mimicking the infection of the disease itself. When the vaccine is injected or dripped, the immune system will perceive the vaccine as a foreign organism that will attack the body. The immune system will send special cells to eradicate the vaccine. From there, the immune system will remember the alias form a memory for the incident.
As a result, the immune system will always be prepared for real disease attacks because it has “remembered” which organisms are dangerous and need to be eradicated. Vaccines will reduce people’s risk of developing disease.
Vaccine side effects
Like other medicines, some types of vaccines can cause side effects, both mild and severe. However, keep in mind that all vaccines that have been circulating in Indonesia are proven safe because they have undergone rigorous research and clinical trials, so the possibility of fatal vaccine side effects will be very rare.
The mild side effects of the vaccine are:
- Headache
- Runny nose or stuffy nose (like flu symptoms)
- Sore throat
- Joint pain
- Upper respiratory tract infection
- Diarrhea
- Fever
- Stomach ache
- Nausea and vomiting
- Redness and swelling
- Itchy
- Bruises and lumps at the injection site
- Muscle ache
- Limp body
- Ringing in ears
While the side effects are severe and rarely occur:
- Inflammation of the stomach and intestines
- Pneumonia
- Blood in urine or feces
- Severe allergic reaction (very rare)
- Seizures
- Decreased consciousness
- Permanent brain damage
Before giving any vaccines to children or adults, it is recommended that you consult a doctor first. If you experience severe side effects of the vaccine, seek medical help immediately.
Hello Health Group does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Hello Health Group and Hello Sehat do not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please check our editorial policy page for more detailed information.