By Carolina A. Herrera Vaccines train your immune system to fight against harmful invading pathogens, which are microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites) that can cause disease. Vaccines contain dead or weakened pathogens, or distinctive pieces of a pathogen such as proteins or polysaccharides (sugars) that activate the immune system. The immune system is a […]
By Jenna Beam Meet Edward Jenner, a physician from way back in the early 1800’s. Why do we care about another old English man, you ask? Because Edward Jenner is the man responsible for one of the most important medical discoveries ever made: vaccines. As a baby through early childhood, and even sometimes as an […]
By Jenna Beam If you’ve been alive at any point since 1998, chances are you’ve heard about the anti-vax movement. As a part of this movement, parents refuse to vaccinate their children. This movement was started on the back of a “study” (it was a scam) that falsely claimed a link between vaccines and autism […]
By Tim Daugird What if I told you that if enough people got a flu shot, we could all eliminate influenza outbreaks? You may think, “Duh, if everyone got a flu shot, then no one would get the flu”. Although you would be correct, we can probably all agree that the idea of everyone getting […]