Vaccine and Thimerosal

A vaccine is an injection of a weakened or killed pathogen, such as a bacterium or virus, or a portion of the pathogen's structure that, once inside the body, stimulates the creation of antibodies or cellular immunity against the particular pathogen. Once an individual has the antibodies for an infectious disease, the person is essentially immune to the disease. Someone can get this immunity through an active or passive “route.” A vaccine is not able to cause sever infection.

Active Immunity

A protection by one’s own immune system that is usually permanent in nature.

Passive Immunity

A protection via products produced by animals or humans and then transferred to another human, typically by injection. Passive immunities are effective but temporary protections. Over time (weeks or months), they will become less effective and eventually disappear completely.

Immune System

The immune system’s primary purpose is to find and destroy antigens, which are the foreign substances in the body. Antigens are either live (as in the case of bacteria or viruses) or inactivated. Once the immune system identifies antigens, it tries to create a defense against them (the immune response). This typically involves the production of antibodies and other cells (known as cell-mediated immunity). These help destroy the antigens.

Effective Vaccinations

The two most important issues to insuring effective vaccines are the timing of antibody-containing blood products and live vaccines, simultaneous and nonsimultaneous administration of different vaccines, and the intervals between subsequent doses of the same vaccine.

In order to get the most out of a vaccine, they should be given very close to the recommended schedule. Vaccines are given in separate doses and the proper spacing between them should be followed. The only exception to this is if a child is not up-to-date with their vaccinations and needs to be accelerated in order to be caught up. If this is the case, it is extremely important to know how closely the doses can be spaced and still remain effective.

Vaccines Containing Thimerosal
The following list is provided by the U.S. Public Health Service and the American Academy of Pediatrics.