A simple look at the making of a vaccine.
In general there are two major types of vaccines: those made of bacteria and those made of viruses. Vaccines are further distinguished as being live or dead. Dead vaccines are inactivated through heat, radiation or chemicals. Before a live vaccine is deemed suitable for human use it must be weakened. This is done by serial passage. This means that the vaccine is passed through viable tissue several times (sometimes as many as fifty times) to reduce it’s potency. Many different species may be used for this purpose; monkeys, chick embryos and even surgically aborted human fetuses are used. Once the virus is weaker it must be strengthened with disinfectants and stabilizers such as but not limited to streptomycin, sodium chloride, sodium hydroxide, aluminum, hydrochloride, sorbitol, hydrolyzed gelatin, formaldehyde and thimerosal a mercury derivative.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
A Breakdown of What's in Vaccines | Vaccination News
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