Vaccinations Flashcards
What are inactivated vaccinations?
Give examples of inactivated vaccinations
Inactivated vaccines involve giving a killed version of the pathogen. They cannot cause an infection and are safe for immunocompromised patients, although they may not have an adequate response.
Examples are:
- Polio
- Flu vaccine
- Hepatitis A
- Rabies
What are subunit and conjugate vaccinations?
Give examples of subunit and aonjugate vaccinations
Subunit and conjugate vaccines only contain parts of the organism used to stimulate an immune response. They also cannot cause infection and are safe for immunocompromised patients.
Examples of subunit and conjugate vaccines are:
- Pneumococcus
- Meningococcus
- Hepatitis B
- Pertussis (whooping cough)
- Haemophilus influenza type B
- Human papillomavirus (HPV)
- Shingles (herpes-zoster virus)
What are live attenuated vaccinations?
Give examples of live attenuated vaccinations
Live attenuated vaccines contain a weakened version of the pathogen. They are still capable of causing infection, particularly in immunocompromised patients.
The following vaccines are live attenuated vaccines:
- Measles, mumps and rubella vaccine: contains all three weakened viruses
- BCG: contains a weakened version of tuberculosis
- Chickenpox: contains a weakened varicella-zoster virus
- Nasal influenza vaccine (not the injection)
- Rotavirus vaccine
What are toxin vaccinations?
Give examples of toxin vaccinations
Toxin vaccines contain a toxin that is normally produced by a pathogen. They cause immunity to the toxin and not the pathogen itself.
Examples:
- Diphtheria
- Tetanus vaccines
What vaccinations are given at 8 weeks?
- 6 in 1 vaccine (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib) and hepatitis B)
- Meningococcal type B
- Rotavirus (oral vaccine)
What vaccinations are given at 12 weeks?
- 6 in 1 vaccine (again)
- Pneumococcal (13 different serotypes)
- Rotavirus (again)
What vaccinations are given at 16 weeks?
- 6 in 1 vaccine (again)
- Meningococcal type B (again)
What vaccinations are given at 1 year?
- 2 in 1 (haemophilus influenza type B and meningococcal type C)
- Pneumococcal (again)
- MMR vaccine (measles, mumps and rubella)
- Meningococcal type B (again)
What vaccinations are given yearly at aged 2-8?
Influenza vaccine (nasal vaccine).
What vaccinations are given at 3 years 4 months?
- 4 in 1 (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and polio)
- MMR vaccine (again)
What vaccinations are given at 12-13 years?
Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine (2 doses given 6 to 24 months apart).
What vaccinations are given at 14 years?
- 3 in 1 (tetanus, diphtheria and polio)
- Meningococcal groups A, C, W and Y
Briefly describe the role of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine
The HPV vaccine is ideally given to girls and boys before they become sexually active. The intention is to prevent them contracting and spreading HPV once they become sexually active. The current NHS vaccine is Gardasil, which protects against strains 6, 11, 16 and 18:
- Strains 6 and 11 cause genital warts
- Strains 16 and 18 cause cervical cancer
Briefly describe the role of the BCG vaccine
The BCG vaccine is offered from birth to babies who are at higher risk of tuberculosis. These are babies with relatives from countries of high TB prevalence or who live in urban areas with a high rate of TB. It may also be given to children arriving from areas of high TB prevalence or in close contact with people that have TB.
Is there a link between the MMR vaccine and autism?
Andrew Wakefield published a paper in 1998 in the Lancet, where he performed a series of tests on 12 children with autism and chronic enterocolitis. He reported it appeared they started having features of autism after the MMR vaccine. This was very anecdotal evidence based on parents perceptions about when the issues started. This caused a very big media response that generated a lot of fear amongst parents and uncertainty amongst doctors.
Since then the MMR vaccine, as well as other vaccines, have been extensively investigated with much more rigorous scientific research and statistical power, such as a meta-analysis with over one million patients. All subsequent scientific literature has disproved any link between the MMR and autism.
