A vaccine is made up of a tiny, weakened, non-dangerous fragment of a pathogen- the germ that causes a disease. The part of the pathogen that gets included in the vaccine is known as an antigen. Being vaccinated does not give you the disease but it will trigger an immune response in your body. This teaches your body to build the right type of antibody- a blood protein produced in response to counteracting a specific antigen. These antibodies protect you in the future against the pathogen.

There are four main types of vaccines. In the production of an attenuated vaccine, a weakened form of the virus is used by being modified. This differs to an inactive vaccine as they are made from a protein or other small pieces taken from a virus or bacteria. Subunit, recombinant, polysaccharide and conjugate vaccines use specific pieces of the germ and therefore give a very strong immune response that is targeted to key parts of the germ. Toxoid vaccines use the toxins that are created by the bacteria or virus to create immunity to the specific parts of the bacteria or virus that cause disease.

Along with a fragment of the pathogen, some vaccines may be religiously impermissible as it contains ingredients such as gelatin or foetal cells or it causes more harm than benefit. In religions such as Islam, if the medication or cure for an illness causes harm which is less severe than the benefit it would be ruled permissible if there is no other effective alternative. This same rule applies if there is no other medication which contains permissible substances. The ruling differs when it comes to vaccines which contain gelatin. The vaccine would only become permissible if the gelatin undergoes a significant change in it’s chemical or physical nature. Most vaccines are permissible even though one is intentionally putting themselves in the way of harm (by injecting themselves with a disease) as there is a greater benefit at the end.

When it comes to the permissibility of vaccines that contain foetal cells, some have the opinion that no vaccine contains these cells. Others believe that an aborted foetus had its lungs dissected and a WI-38 cell line was created from it. This is a replicated cell which was used to produce a group of normal human cells with a consistent genetic make-up which intern produces a perfect environment for making vaccines against viruses such as measles, rabies and rubella. Companies that use these cells have assured that no new tissue has been added to the original cells to prepare the vaccines, and the original foetal cells have disappeared.

For some vaccines, the active ingredients have to be grown in laboratories on cultures that contain human or animal cell lines. This is because these viruses are specific to humans or animals and will only grow in human or animal cells. Once grown, the viruses are purified several times to remove the cell culture material. This makes it very unlikely that any human or animal material remains in the final vaccine, which makes it permissible to take the vaccine.

Along with the concern of certain ingredients being present in vaccines, some people may have an opposition to mandatory vaccines. This phenomenon took place in England during 1853 where there was a stern resistance against the Vaccination Act, which made it mandatory for infants up to 3 months to be vaccinated against small pox. This opposition prompted the government to study the smallpox vaccine which concluded that the vaccine against smallpox was effective.

Vaccination initiatives have succeeded in the preservation of the lives of millions of people across the globe which reduces the global mortality rate. Parents who vaccinate their children would fulfil the preservation of their progeny by safeguarding them from diseases. Preservation of intellect/sanity is implemented when one is at peace of mind by knowing that their community and citizens are protected from contracting the disease. Vaccines contribute in the preservation of wealth as they are a cost-effective intervention.

It must be conceded that the overall benefit of a vaccine is to strengthen one’s immunity and protect one’s body from a fatal disease. Therefore, healthcare workers urge us to take vaccines as the benefit is greater than the harm.