Vaccine, is one of the greatest medical inventions of mankind, in 870 years, Pasteur found in the study of chicken cholera, chicken Vibrio cholerae after several generations of culture, its virulence can be reduced, after the attenuated bacteria inoculated into chickens, chickens not only do not cause disease, but also obtain immunity to Vibrio cholerae, thus inventing the first live attenuated bacterial vaccine.
The reason why it is considered the greatest medical invention of mankind is because the birth of the vaccine has saved thousands of lives, before the birth of the vaccine, the mortality rate of infants and young children is very high, due to poor immunity, resulting in all kinds of bacteria and viruses are targeting infants and young children, once infected, it is often fatal.
After the birth of vaccines, infants and young children were vaccinated accordingly to prevent diseases.
So, what is the principle of vaccine prevention of disease?
Vaccines are autoimmune preparations made by artificially attenuating, inactivating or using genetically modified methods to prevent infectious diseases. The vaccine retains the property of pathogenic bacteria to stimulate the immune system of the animal. When the animal body comes into contact with this non-harmful pathogenic bacteria, the immune system will produce certain protective substances, such as immune hormones, active physiological substances, special antibodies, etc., and when the animal comes into contact with this pathogenic bacteria again, the animal's immune system will follow its original memory and produce more protective substances to prevent the damage of the pathogenic bacteria.
Human beings have a close relationship with vaccines, from the moment the child falls to the ground, it is necessary to vaccinate, and when the child grows up and reaches the age of kindergarten, the teacher will check the vaccination book, as we get older, we are vaccinated less and less, and the vaccination after adulthood is often because of emergencies, such as after being bitten by a dog, you need to be vaccinated against rabies in time, once during the new crown pandemic, most adults were vaccinated against the new crown.
In old age, immunity begins to decline again, so many elderly people have also become a high-risk group for infection, and a series of pathogenic microorganisms will target them.
Many elderly people feel that there is no need for vaccination at such an old age, in fact, this is very wrong, due to poor immunity, the elderly need to be vaccinated to prevent some serious infectious diseases.
As a doctor, I would like to remind everyone that after parents reach the age of 50, they must get these four vaccines!
1. New crown vaccine
The long-term existence of the new crown virus has become an inevitable reality, and like the flu, the new crown has become a seasonal epidemic, although after nearly four years of transmission, the new crown has long been less pathogenic than before, but this does not mean that the new crown is not destructive.
The new crown is still not friendly to the elderly, especially the elderly with underlying diseases, after being infected with the new crown, there may be a risk of turning into severe infection, so for the elderly, infection with the new crown still has the risk of death, in order to reduce the risk, vaccination is undoubtedly the best way.
Although vaccination does not prevent 100% infection, it can reduce the risk of severe infection.
2. Influenza vaccine
Influenza, a virus that is easily ignored, the influenza virus has been spreading for hundreds of years, Spanish influenza is the deadliest infectious disease in human history, in 1918~1919 caused about 1 billion infections in the world, 25 million to 40 million deaths, and its global average fatality rate is about 2.5%.
Even now, with the development of medicine, the elderly who are infected with the flu are still at great risk of death.
How to prevent the flu virus? In fact, as with the coronavirus, the best way is to get a flu vaccine.
3. Herpes zoster vaccine
There is a virus, once the elderly are found, then the elderly will be in pain for a long time, this virus is the herpes zoster virus, which causes herpes zoster, which is called the dragon around the waist.
In fact, shingles can not only infect the lower back, but also the chest, face, mouth, and other parts.
By far the best way to prevent shingles, the vaccine requires 2 doses with an interval of 2 months, and can achieve more than 90% protection efficiency after vaccination.
4. Pneumococcal vaccine
For the elderly, pneumonia is a terrible disease, the elderly have poor immunity, the lungs are easily affected by bacterial infection, and the progression rate after infection is very fast, it is likely to turn into severe pneumonia in just 48-72 hours, especially the elderly with underlying medical conditions, the risk of infection is higher.
It is advisable for all older people to receive the pneumococcal vaccine, which can be given all year round, and if necessary, again in the sixth year after the first dose.