How Does a Vaccine Work?
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649483ab799f610b8944934e/6629d87439f69f9797c619a2_Newsletter_Header_wSubtitle.png)
Morning Vaxxers!
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/65d295a924924f69adc56333_VACCINE_gif.gif)
We hear a lot about vaccines nowadays thanks to the big C.O.V.I.D.
But, how do they even work?
So, its 1796.
And we’ve got this scientist dude, Edward Jenner:
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/65d295a92feebe29c48a19db_bigstock-Edward-Jenner-------Eng-22170020.jpeg)
Eddy decides it’s a good idea to inject this 8 year old kid with material from a Cowpox virus…
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/65d295aa7bbf22bc91d3cd02_G1C.webp)
He thinks that it might protect the kid against cowpox’s deadly cousin THE SMALLPOX VIRUS:
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/65d295a93e3aa01adb5a2576_G1D.webp)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/65d295a920d24db1cb7c359b_G1E.webp)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/65d295aa441ca313f0de5a1e_G1F.webp)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/65d295a968424304526f718e_G1G.webp)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/65d295a93cf4455e66719ad0_G1H.webp)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/65d295a9392eb038e18d2cdd_G1I.webp)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/65d295a9e88a020c6ff81eab_G1J.webp)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/65d295a950d0c3f4150ee996_G1K.webp)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/65d295a9b188307453a5245b_G1L.webp)
Luckily, the kid did not die a horrible painful death.
Not only that.
He actually built an immunity against Smallpox.
But, why did it work?
Well, when foreign microbes invade us:
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/65d295a95d4c0005f3d14d42_G1M.webp)
The immune system triggers a bunch of responses in an attempt to identify and remove them from our bodies.
Signs this is working include:
Coughing,
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/65d295a9e9cdbe37bc5c4d3a_G1N.webp)
Sneezing,
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/65d295a98aa35f2f5a4d164a_G1O.webp)
Inflammation,
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/65d295a9c611926ea0fb9597_G1P.webp)
and Fever:
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/65d295a9d0fefe21bd4ea026_G2A.webp)
But we also have another response which is a little less gross called:
Adaptive Immunity.
Special cells called B cells and T cells are recruited to fight microbes:
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/65d295a9fe876d9bb22e253a_G2B.webp)
They also record information about microbes, including what they look like + how best to fight them:
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/65d295a93b7439eb5425bacc_G2C.webp)
So when Edward Jenner injected the kid with the cowpox virus — a lesser version of Smallpox — the kid’s immune system went to work:
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/65d295a91d5b84637aa0fbd0_G2D.webp)
Fighting the weak cowpox virus, learning all its moves and weaknesses.
So that if the kid were to catch the much more deadly Smallpox…
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/65d295aa0ba574f561ef51eb_G2E.webp)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/65d295a98384bfe1869bcfac_G2F.webp)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/65d295a9ed89be090a495ff0_G2G.webp)
His immune system already knows how to fight it!
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649aa49e57793ed61ecbd3fd/65d295a93522088b5d5755f1_G2H.webp)
Thanks Edward, for risking that kid’s life :)
Stay Cute,
Reece, Henry & Dylan 🌈
If you’re that sexy friend, subscribe here.
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/649483ab799f610b8944934e/6625db5adaf05fa2c88feff3_Newsletter_Footer-b.png)
Get smart about nonsense🌈
Join 30,000+ subscribers and get our daily comic explaining nerdy stuff like you’re 5.