Track 24: Vaccines and Immunotherapy

Vaccines and Immunotherapy

Both vaccines and immunotherapy are critical components of modern medicine, playing key roles in the prevention and treatment of diseases, particularly infectious diseases and certain types of cancers. They both harness the immune system to help fight off disease, but they do so in different ways and serve distinct purposes.

Vaccines

Vaccines are biological preparations that help the immune system recognize and fight off pathogens (viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms) more effectively. They contain antigens, which are substances that stimulate the immune system to produce an immune response, typically including the production of antibodies. When the immune system encounters a pathogen after vaccination, it recognizes the pathogen and attacks it quickly and efficiently, often preventing illness.

How Vaccines Work

1.      Antigen Presentation:
Vaccines introduce a part or the whole of a pathogen (or a similar, harmless form of it) into the body. This can include:

• Inactivated or killed pathogens (e.g., polio vaccine),
• Live attenuated (weakened) pathogens (e.g., measles, mumps, rubella vaccine),
• Subunit or protein-based vaccines (e.g., HPV vaccine)