When a small weakened pathogen is introduced into the body, it stimulates the body's immune system to recognize and fight the pathogen, thus developing immunity against future infections by that pathogen. This process of introduction of a weakened pathogen is vaccination.How does vaccination help us?It can help prevent diseases like measles, mumps, rubella in children to flu, pneumonia, even HPV related cancers which can affect adults. Note, vaccination of a pregnant woman against rubella can protect her child from being born with congenital anomalies. Vaccination protects travellers as they enter regions of the world with high incidence of diseases like yellow fever and typhoid. Election Results 2025Bihar election results: Bihar votes for 'sushasan'; NDA cruising towards clean sweepBig win for Chirag Paswan; LJP(RV) makes huge gainsTejashwi Yadav faces tough contest in Raghopur; can he hold on to family bastion?Of course, the effect of vaccinations cannot be stressed upon enough in the protection of healthcare professionals as they are regularly exposed to many diseases during the course of their work.Beyond these direct effects of vaccinations, there are many other effects of this process. During COVID times, the term herd immunity was widely discussed. How does this work? When a large population of people are vaccinated, the disease is unable to find suitable hosts and this hampers the spread of disease. The effect of this is that vulnerable populations like the elderly or pregnant women get automatically protected as the pathogen is unable to spread and reach them. Thus vaccinations protect those with weakened immune systems directly and indirectly. Further outbreaks of the disease are prevented. Vaccinations are directly responsible for eradication of some of the most dreaded diseases in the world e.g., smallpox.A less discussed effect of vaccination is that it prevents disease-related complications as fewer people are getting affected by the disease. We can take this further by saying that vaccinations thus help to reduce healthcare costs as well as minimize loss of workdays.Thus in a world where childhood vaccinations are taken very seriously, we need to bring in equal importance to vaccinations of adults. Vaccinations not only work at individual levels, but also at the level of families, communities, even future generations. Vaccinations protect and save lives, age no bar.Dr Vaishaly Bharambe, MBBS, MD, PhD-Anatomy, Counsellor and Medical Educator.
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