Vaccine Ingredients

  Antigens:

            Antigens are what we know to be the active ingredient that triggers the immune response that is desired during vaccination in order to achieve immunity to a disease. Antigens in vaccines can be in many different forms. Whole microbes, either weakened or killed. Parts of the microbe, inactivated toxoids, proteins, etc. Antigens are responsible for the memory that our immune system creates after being vaccinated. 

Adjuvants:

            Adjuvants are responsible for enhancing the effectiveness of the vaccine by allowing them to create a better immune response. This is very beneficial as it may allow for the overall contents of the vaccine to decrease in amount of lessens the number of doses needed to achieve immunity. It is important to note that not all vaccines contain adjuvants. In particular, live attenuated vaccines do not need the support of an adjuvant due to them by themselves already being so effective. 

 

Stabilizers:

            The purpose of stabilizers as an ingredient of vaccines is to protect the integrity of the active ingredients, or antigens, in a vaccine. This ensures that the vaccine remains safe during the manufacturing process as well as vaccine transport and storage. The main purpose is to keep the contents of the vaccine safe and stable at all times. 

 

Preservatives:

            Preservatives are used in vaccines to prevent contamination in the vaccine. The contamination is specifically targets to prevent bacterial or fungal contamination. Preservatives are typically present in a vaccine that uses a multi-dose vial, a vial where several doses of vaccines can be administered from. Contamination of vaccines can be very dangerous and why preservatives are so important. For example, in 1916 several children received a typhoid vaccine which was contaminated with a bacterium (Staphylococcus aureus) which left some children dead and others with severe infections. Without contamination this vaccine would have been totally safe, and for these reasons we now find it crucial to use preservatives for multidose vials. 

 

Fluids:

            Fluids act as a method of transport for the contents of the vaccine to enter the body. This is typically sterilized water, and this is the main ingredient in the vaccines. 

 

 

Manufacturing by-products:

            During the manufacturing process of vaccines there may be trace amounts of products that are left in the vaccine. These are typically chemicals and remnants of cell products. The biggest thing about these products is that the dose makes the poison. There is typically almost none of these products left in vaccines once they are finished being made. A good reference that I learned in my Immunology as well as Vaccines course is say you are preparing dinner and cutting raw chicken on a cutting board and then need to use the cutting board to cut up some vegetables. You clean the cutting board with a little bit of bleach to disinfect the cutting board in between to ensure none of the raw chicken touches the vegetables. You finish making your meal and are ready to eat it. Would you consider bleach an ingredient in your dinner? No you wouldn’t! There is so little amounts of bleach that it would not even be enough to have an effect on you, again the dose is in the poison. This represents how little of the manufacturing by-products that are present in vaccines.