Vaccination and Public Health

Question 1

Why is vaccination important?

Answer 1

Prevent illness, prevent transmission and protect vulnerable groups. It is a cost-effective health intervention.

Question 2

What is an endemic?

Answer 2

Infection is contained at baseline level within a community.

Question 3

What is a pandemic?

Answer 3

Widespread infectious disease occurrence which is not controlled over multiple areas.

Question 4

Which diseases have been eradicated by vaccines?

Answer 4

Smallpox and rinderpest

Question 5

What is the aim of vaccination in the UK?

Answer 5

Universal coverage for
DTP, MMR, HPV and smallpox vaccines

Question 6

What is transmissibility?

Answer 6

Ability of a disease to be passed from one person to another

Question 7

How is transmissibility measured?

Answer 7

Basic reproduction number: represents the average number of new cases of a disease arising from a single infected individual.

Question 8

What is R0?

Answer 8

Reproduction number from a single person will lead to 2 individuals on average being infected, in a population where all individuals are susceptible.

Question 9

What is a secondary infection?

Answer 9

Infection that occurs during treatment or after primary infection, where there is increased susceptibility.

Question 10

What is effective reproductive number?

Answer 10

Average number of secondary infections produced when one infected individual is introduced to a population containing a mix of susceptible and immune individuals.

Question 11

What does a reproductive number < 1 indicate?

Answer 11

Number of new cases will eventually decreases over time. This is an ideal state which will be maintained with interventions.

Question 12

What does a reproductive number = 1 mean?

Answer 12

Cases are stable, therefore it is an endemic infection that is the baseline for the population which is independent of the disease prevalence.

Question 13

What does a reproductive number > 1 mean?

Answer 13

Outbreak will continue unless it is managed, therefore it is an epidemic infection where there is a greater incidence due to higher pathogen proliferation.

Question 14

What is herd immunity?

Answer 14

Point in population where transmission is not likely to occur, when 70 to 90% of the population is vaccinated.

Question 14

How to determine the herd immunity threshold for an infectious pathogen?

Answer 14

1-(1/R0).

Question 15

What are the consequences of low vaccine coverage?

Answer 15

Increased risk of disease outbreak
Average age of infection increases, with greater complications in older people.
Greater strain on healthcare services

Question 16

What is the WHO recommendation for vaccines?

Answer 16

95% of children before age 5 are vaccinated against:
Diphtheria
Tetanus
Pertussis
Polio
Haemophilius influenzae

Question 17

How are vaccine policies established?

Answer 17

By the Department of Health and Social Care, which is published in the Green Book.
The green Book is ‘Immunisation against infectious diseases.’

Question 18

Where are adverse vaccine reactions reported?

Answer 18

Yellow Card Scheme, monitored by the Medicines Health Regulatory Agency (MHRA)

Question 19

Which health policies promote vaccination?

Answer 19

Extended programme of immunisation (EPI), launched by WHO which aimed to make vaccinations against common childhood infectious agents with high mortality available to children globally by 1990.

Global alliance for vaccination and immunisation was created for extending the EPI programme.

Question 20

What affects the herd immunity threshold?

Answer 20

Transmissibility of the pathogen.