Vaccination

 Vaccination

It is a common saying that prevention is better than cure.  To prevent certain diseases, you can follow an immunization programme through vaccines.  By vaccination, you can prevent diseases by enabling your body systems to fight against the disease-causing germs.  They may enter the body through different ways and sources.  As you already know, developing the fighting capability in a body is called immunization.  A new-born baby is inoculated with triple vaccine of diphtheria, tetanus and  pertussis or whooping cough (DPT).  Vaccines are given on a massive scale to restrict or prevent epidemics, such as cholera and typhoid. A vaccine stimulates your immune system to produce antibodies exactly like it would if you were exposed to the disease. After getting vaccinated, you develop immunity to that disease first. This is what makes vaccines such powerful medicine.

Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV)

You have heard of pulse polio immunization.  It constitutes the largest single day public health event, it was conducted for the first time in December, 1995, in an attempt to eradicate polio from our country.  Let us know something about the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV).  A dose of 3 drops is given orally to the child as per the National Immunisation Schedule (NIS), which, is, one dose each at 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5 months age and a booster dose at the age of 1.5 years.  The vaccine consists of milder forms of polio viral particles. 

Q1. Find the odd one out:                                                                                    (1 mark)

a) BCG                   b) DPT                    c) OPV                   d) NIS

Ans-d

Q2. The diseases in   DPT are:                                                                               (1 mark)

a)    Diarrhoea, pneumonia, tetanus

b)    Diphtheria, pneumonia, TB

c)    Diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus

d)    Diarrhoea, pneumonia, tetanus

Ans- c

Q3. State True or False:                                                                                         (5 marks)

a)    A dose of 4 drops is given orally to the child as per the National immunization schedule.

b)    Small pox is the disease which has been totally eradicated from the world.

c)    Vaccine consists of dead or weakened form of microbes, its toxins or one of its surface.

d)    A booster dose of OPV is given at 2.5 years.

e)    All vaccines are 100% effective.

Q4. How vaccines protect individuals and community?                            (3 marks)

Q5 . In this pandemic era everybody wants to develop immunity and is waiting for covid19 vaccine. In this regard doctors are using a term frequently “herd immunity”. What is herd   immunity  ? Is it real? Does it work?                                              (5 marks)

Q6 . A child is invited to a chicken pox party. Would it be better for the child to get the chicken pox this way?                                                                      (5 marks)