According to the WHO, vaccination saves 2-3 million lives a year (1). It is a form of active immunisation; it means that vaccine is injected into your body to activate and boost your immune response. (Note: passive immunisation is the administration of antibodies – as in the administration of convalescent plasma during COVIDU-19 pandemic or antisera – given, e.g. after a snakebite.)
Edward Jenner discover the first “typical” vaccine. He noticed that cows exposed to the cowpox virus were never infected with the variola virus (smallpox) (2). In 1796, he therefore vaccinated a boy using a scalpel dipped in manure from cowpox pustules. Vaccination was named after this process from the Latin word vacca (cow).
However, thanks to modern science, today’s vaccines have a much different composition and are much safer. The vaccine contains an active substance called an antigen, which induces the production of antibodies in the body. Administration of the antigen alone would not be enough to stimulate an immune response, so adjuvants are also present. These often act as carriers to prevent the antigen from being destroyed too quickly or as agents that strengthen the response against the antigen.
Vaccines against viral diseases come in different forms. According to the type of active substance, they are divided into the following.
- Live attenuated vaccines (attenuated) – vaccines are based on the original wild virus, which is repeatedly multiplied under conditions less favourable for the virus than in the host, thus weakening it, process called attenuation. This attenuated virus can trigger an immune response without being able to replicate further in the body (3).
- Vaccines against measles, mumps and rubella virus, yellow fever virus, influenza virus, poliovirus, Japanese encephalitis virus, rotavirus, varicella zoster (chickenpox, shingles)
- Inactivated vaccines are vaccines in which the pathogen has been physically or chemically inactivated, in other words ‘killed’. These vaccines often require revaccination.
- Vaccines against poliovirus, influenza virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, hepatitis A virus, rabies virus
- Subunit vaccines: the vaccine contains only a part of the virus (in the form of subunits or peptide) – most often a subunit of the protein that is necessary for the virus to bind to the cell. For these vaccines, more frequent revaccination is needed to maintain sufficient antibody levels.
- Vaccines against influenza virus, hepatitis A and B virus, SARS-CoV-2
- Virus-like particles: the vaccine is produced e.g. in yeast or insect cells. The genes for the proteins that make up the viral envelope are delivered into these cells. The cells then produce viral particles that look like a live virus, but do not contain its genetic information. Such particles are unable to replicate in the body (3,4).
- Vaccines against human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis A, B, and E virus and influenza virus
- Viral vectors: the vaccine consists of an envelope (vector) from the virus that normally infects human cells but does not cause serious disease (adenovirus vectors are common). Envelope contains genetic information of the virus against which the vaccine is developed.
- Vaccines against Ebola virus, SARS-CoV-2
- Vaccines in the form of nucleic acids: a vaccine typically consists of a “fat” envelope in which a nucleic acid encoding a gene for a viral protein (typically a surface protein that allows the virus to enter the cell).
- Vaccines against: SARS-CoV-2
The following table summarises the vaccination calendar for Czech Republic citizens, supplemented by optional vaccinations against VIRAL only diseases (5).
| Vaccine | Disease (nonviral diseases in italisc) | Vaccine type | Vaccination age | Revaccination |
| Rotarix, ROTATEQ | Rotavirus infection | atenuated | from the 6th week | 2-3 doses; up to the 24th week max |
| Infarix Hexa, Hexacima | polio, viral hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, and Haemophilus influenzae B infection | combined | from the 9th week | 2 boosting doses 4th month and 11th-13th month |
| Varivax nebo varilrix | chickenpox* | atenuated | from the 9th week to 12 years | recommended for children who have not had chicken pox |
| Infarix, Boostrix polio nebo Adacel Polio | Polio, diphteria, whooping caugh | combined | 10-11 years | 1 dose (revaccination after Hexa) |
| M-M-RvaxPro | Measles, rubella, mumps | atenuated | 13-18 months | second dose at age 5 and then when antibody levels are insufficient in adulthood |
| Cervarix, Gardasil nebo Gardasil 9 | Papillomavirus infection | Virus-like particles | 11-15 years | not standardized (according to the CDC, the immune response is not weakened even 10 years after vaccination (4) |
| Encepur nebo FSME-Immun | Tick-borne encephalitis | inactivated | From 1 year | after 3 regular doses every 5 years |
| Vaxigrip Tetra | influenza | subunit | from the 6th month | once a year |
| Influvac tetra | influenza | subunit | from the 6th month | once a year |
| Fluenz Tetra | influenza | atenuated (nasal spray) | 2-17 years | once a year |
| Verorab | rabies | inactivated | only at risk of infection and in risky professions | not standardized |
| Commirnaty | COVID-19 | mRNA (nucleic acid) | from the 6th month | not standardized |
| SpikeVax | COVID-19 | mRNA (nucleic acid) | From 12 years | not standardized |
| Nuvaxovid | COVID-19 | subunit | From 12 years | not standardized |
| JCOVDEN | COVID-19 | vector | From 18 years | not standardized |
| Shingrix | shingles* | atenuated | From 50 years ** | not standardized |
| Efluelda | Influenza | inactivated | From 60 years | once a year |
| Arexvi | respiratory syncytial virus infection | subunit | From 60 years | not standardized |
| Abrysvo | respiratory syncytial virus infection | subunit | pregnant women between 24-36 week of pregnancy and people over 60 years old | not standardized |
Mandatory vaccination in the Czech Republic in blue
* chicken pox and shingles are diseases caused by the same virus – Varicella zoster
** from 18 years of age for persons at risk of developing shingles
I hope you find the information useful. If you have any questions or comments feel free to ask in the comments 😊.
Have a great day!
Lucie
Figure adapted from “Types of Influenza Vaccines”, by BioRender.com (2024). Retrieved from https://app.biorender.com/biorender-templates
1. Pollard, A.J. et al. (2021). Nat Rev Immunol, 21, 83–100
2. Vanderslott, S. et al. (2024). Our World in Data,
3. Moradi Vahdat, M. et al. (2021). Biotechnology Reports, 29, e00605
4. https://www.cdc.gov/std/hpv/stdfact-hpv-vaccine-young-women.htm 5. https://www.nzip.cz/clanek/215-ockovaci-kalendar-pro-deti
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