Vaccinations

Vaccination, the administration of a vaccine, the antigenic material from pathogens prepares the body for future infections via specific pathogen.

When a vaccine is first administered, an antigen presenting immune cell or APC, such as a dendritic cell, engulfs the antigen from the vaccines, degrades it and displays pieces of the antigen on its surface.

APCs then activate T-helper cells or Th for short that triggers cytotoxic T lymphocytes or CTLs, also know as killer T-cells and B-cells.

Once activated, CTLs are able to detect infected cells, bind to the cells and release chemicals that kill the cells along with harbored pathogens.

Post-activation by Th, B-cells divide into plasma and memory B-cells. The plasma cells make antibodies that bind to vaccine-introduced antigens to destroy and eliminate them from the body.

After the vaccine-induced mock infection is cleared, some T-cells get converted into memory cells that can readily divide and grow whenever re-exposure occurs to the same pathogen or its antigens in the future.

The memory cells and antibodies generated via vaccines against a specific pathogen remain in the body for months or years at a time depending on the vaccine.

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