After reading these notes, test your knowledge with free interactive questions on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

Vaccination

Vaccination is the main technique for helping the immune system recognise and destroy pathogens. Immunising (making immune) a large proportion of the population will make it very hard for a pathogen to be spread. The process of vaccination is:

Inject a dead pathogen

Inject a dead pathogen

  • A vaccination injects a dead or inactive form of a pathogen into the blood.
Immune system recognition

Immune system recognition

  • White blood cells recognise that the antigens are foreign and produce antibodies against them.
Memory cells

Memory cells

  • Some of these white blood cells remain in the blood as memory cells. If the same pathogen invades the body again, the memory cells are able to:
    • Produce antibodies faster.
    • Produce more antibodies, meaning that the antibody concentration remains in the blood for longer.
Immunity

Immunity

  • Next time the same pathogen infects the vaccinated person, it will be destroyed by the immune system before it can cause illness.
Jump to other topics
1

Biology

1.1

Cells, Tissues & Organs

1.2

Reproduction & Variation

1.3

Ecological Relationships & Classification

1.4

Digestion & Nutrition

1.5

Plants & Photosynthesis

1.6

Biological Systems & Processes

2

Chemistry

2.1

Particles

2.2

Chemical Reactions

2.3

Atoms, Elements, Compounds

2.4

The Periodic Table

2.5

Materials & the Earth

2.6

Reactivity

2.7

Energetics

2.8

Properties of Materials

3

Physics

3.1

Energy

3.2

Forces & Motion

3.3

Waves

3.4

Electricity & Magnetism

3.5

Matter

3.6

Space Physics

4

Disciplinary Knowledge

Practice questions on Vaccinations

Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

  1. 1
  2. 2
    VaccinationPut in order
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
Answer all questions on Vaccinations

Unlock your full potential with Seneca Premium

  • Unlimited access to 10,000+ open-ended exam questions

  • Mini-mock exams based on your study history

  • Unlock 800+ premium courses & e-books

Get started with Seneca Premium