NEWS

Is the Polio vaccine linked to HIV? In the 1990s, certain critics began to blame the testing of a live, weakened polio vaccine in Africa in the 1950s for the spread of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Those behind the accusation argued that chimpanzee cells were used to create the vaccine, and that those cells had been contaminated with a virus that sometimes affects chimps: simian immunodeficiency virus, or SIV. When the vaccine was given to children in Africa, they argued, SIV mutated to become human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, which causes AIDS. The accusations, however, were demonstrably false for a variety of reasons. Most notably, the weakened polio vaccine was not made with chimpanzee cells, but with monkey cells. The vaccine was later tested using a technique that can detect viral DNA (the PCR technique, or polymerase chain reaction); it did not contain SIV or HIV. Researchers at the University of Birmingham in Alabama demonstrated in 2006 that w…

Is the Polio vaccine linked with Cancer? The polio vaccines developed by Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin in the mid-20th century were made with monkey cells. Years later, microbiologist Maurice Hilleman found a monkey virus in both vaccines—the 40th monkey virus to be discovered, which he called Simian Virus 40 (SV40). (Salk’s killed vaccine, which had been treated with formaldehyde, had very small amounts of the virus; Sabin’s live vaccine was heavily contaminated.) Worried about the potential effects the virus could have on humans, Hilleman injected it into hamsters, finding that nearly all of them developed massive cancerous tumors. But the initial panic this caused gave way in the face of future studies. First, hamsters that ingested SV40 instead of being injected with it didn’t get cancer. Sabin’s live vaccine (which contained more SV40 than Salk’s) was given orally. Additional studies showed that children who were given Sabin’s vaccine did not develop antibodies to SV40…

Why are there so many vaccines? Currently, the U.S. childhood vaccination schedule for children between birth and six years of age recommends immunizations for 14 different diseases. Some parents worry that this number seems high, particularly since some of the diseases being vaccinated against are now extremely rare in the United States. Each disease for which vaccinations are recommended, however, can causes serious illness or death in unvaccinated populations, and might quickly begin to appear again if vaccination rates dropped. The United States has seen mumps outbreaks in recent years since vaccination rates have dropped, with severe complications and hospitalizations required for some patients. And before the introduction of the Hib (Haemophilus Influenzae Type b) vaccine, Hib meningitis affected more than 12,000 American children annually, killing 600 and leaving many others with seizures, deafness, and developmental disabilities. After introduction of the vaccine,…

Why do some vaccines require boosters? It’s not completely understood why the length of acquired immunity varies with different vaccines. Some offer lifelong immunity with only one dose, while others require boosters in order to maintain immunity. Recent research has suggested that the persistence of immunity against a particular disease may depend on the speed with which that disease typically progresses through the body. If a disease progresses very rapidly, the immune system’s memory response (that is, the “watchdog antibodies” generated after a previous infection or vaccination) may not be able to respond quickly enough to prevent infection—unless they’ve been “reminded” about the disease fairly recently and are already watching for it. Boosters serve as a “reminder” to your immune system. Research is continuing on the persistence of immunity generated by vaccines.   COVID Action by Sadhguru | Empower yourself in this challenge time, iiQ8 Sadhgur…

My child was invited to a chickenpox party. Would it be better for my child to get the chickenpox this way? Why do we vaccinate against a mild disease like chickenpox? The idea of “pox parties” is generally tied to the perception of chickenpox as a harmless illness. Before the varicella vaccine became available, however, chickenpox infections required 10,000 hospitalizations and caused more than 100 deaths each year in the United States. Exposing a child to wild chickenpox puts him at risk for a severe case of the disease. Even uncomplicated cases of chickenpox cause children to miss a week or more of school, with a caregiver missing work to care for the sick child.[1] Natural infection also means a risk of infecting others: while successful vaccination protects a child against chickenpox without this risk, children who are infected with chickenpox naturally are contagious. They can spread the disease to other people—not just other children, but also adults, who have a hi…

Can you get a disease from the vaccine that’s supposed to prevent it? And why do some vaccines have live pathogens but others have killed pathogens? Vaccines that are made with killed versions of pathogens—or with only a part of the pathogen—are not able to cause illness. When a person receives these vaccines, it is impossible for him or her to become ill with the disease. Live, attenuated (or weakened) vaccines are theoretically capable of causing illness: because they can still replicate (though not well), mutation is possible, which can result in a virulent form of the pathogen. However, they are designed with this in mind, and attenuated to minimize this possibility. Reversion to virulent form is a problem with some forms of the oral polio vaccine (OPV), which is why only the inactivated form (IPV) is now used in the United States. It is important to note that attenuated vaccines can cause serious problems for individuals with weakened immune systems, such as cance…

How do vaccines work? Do they work against viruses and bacteria? Vaccines work to prime your immune system against future “attacks” by a particular disease. There are vaccines against both viral and bacterial pathogens, or disease-causing agents. When a pathogen enters your body, your immune system generates antibodies to try to fight it off. Depending on the strength of your immune response and how effectively the antibodies fight off the pathogen, you may or may not get sick. If you do fall ill, however, some of the antibodies that are created will remain in your body playing watchdog after you’re no longer sick. If you’re exposed to the same pathogen in the future, the antibodies will ”recognize” it and fight it off. Vaccines work because of this function of the immune system. They’re made from a killed, weakened, or partial version of a pathogen. When you get a vaccine, whatever version of the pathogen it contains isn’t strong or plentiful enough to make you sic…