Do vaccines work against

infectious diseases?
Have you ever wondered whether vaccines work or
not?
Well, for a the Covid vaccine to be approved by the world health organization (WHO) it
had to be proven to have a high efficiency rate of 50% or above and after approval they
are monitored frequently for their safety and effectiveness. (World Health Organization,
2021)
When an individual receives a vaccine, it contains a weak or inactive forms of the
disease. It is usually injected into the body to trigger a controlled immune response akin
to the response the body would have if the disease itself infected the body.

So how effective are vaccines?

According to the office for national statistics a study was carried out to investigate the
effectiveness of the Covid – 19 Injection. The first dose was deemed to be effective by
up to 58.7% against mortality, when an individual received the second dose, the
vaccines effectiveness increased to 88.6% effective against mortality and after the third
dose it was increased to 93.2% effective against mortality. Engl (2021) When someone
has the vaccine, it gives a greater chance of stopping getting sick with Covid-19, it may
not stop it completely but gives a greater chance of reducing the transmitting of the
virus. World Health Organization (2021)

Do vaccines benefit people of all ages?

Vaccines are offered to a wide range of people for many reasons. When an infant is
born, their mothers are asked for their consent to inject the babies with vitamin k to help
provide protection against a rare bleeding disorder. They are then further protected
during their first year of birth at 8,12 and 16 weeks against illnesses such as polio,
rotavirus, and meningococcal group B bacteria. Vaccines are offered thought childhood
years to the elderly years to allow protection against many other virus’ such as the flu
and the pneumococcal vaccine and illnesses that may make individuals sicker if they
were to refuse the vaccine. (National Health Service, 2019)

(UK Health Security Agency, 2022)

Figure 1: Vaccine Preparation
(Kissling et al., 2022)

Office for National Statistics (ONS), released 8 March 2023, ONS website,
statistical bulletin, COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness estimated using Census
2021 variables, England: 31 March 2021 to 20 March 2022