thevaccinereaction--2020-01-02--How Vaccines are Made

How Vaccines are Made

Opinion | If you do a Google search on the topic of how vaccines are made , the first hit you may get is a page from Children ’ s Hospital of Philadelphia ( CHOP ) titled “ Making Vaccines : How Are Vaccines Made ?
” On it is a video by pediatrician Paul Offit , MD that , at first , gives the sense that he is going to go into some detail about the manufacturing process .
Dr. Offit starts out… “ One thing that some parents wonder about is how does one make vaccines ?
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Offit ’ s intent is merely to provide an ultra brief and sanitized introduction to the procedure.1 2 “ First , one way to make a vaccine is that you take a virus and you weaken it .
Weaken it so that it can reproduce itself enough to induce an immune response , but not enough to cause disease .
And that ’ s the way that the measles vaccine is made , ” Dr. Offit explains .
He says that that ’ s also the way the mumps , chickenpox , rubella @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s it , one step ?
You take a virus and weaken it and , voilà , you have a vaccine ?
Dr. Offit goes on to explain the way the tetanus and diphtheria vaccines are made .
He says , “ Another way that you can make a vaccine is you can take a bacteria that normally makes a toxin , like tetanus , or diphtheria .
And so those bacterial infections are more intoxications , frankly , than they are infections .
So you take the toxin made by those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a chemical .
And then that becomes your vaccine.
” 1 2 That ’ s all ?
You take the bacterial toxin and you kill it and then , suddenly , a vaccine appears ?
Another way you can make a vaccine is you can take a bacteria , like the bacteria that causes a meningococcal infection , pneumococcal infections , another infections caused by Haemophilus influenzae type b .
And you take this complex sugar coating of that bacteria , called polysaccharide , link it to a harmless protein and then that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , yet and finally … the final way that one can make a vaccine is you can take a virus and instead of weakening it , you can kill it .
And that ’ s the way that the polio vaccine is made .
That ’ s the way the rabies vaccine is made .
That ’ s the way the hepatitis A vaccine is made .
And one more , there ’ s one more way that you can make a vaccine , which is that you can take just a part @ @ @ @ @ @ @ take one protein from the virus that you know induces an antibody response that can completely neutralize the virus .
And that then becomes your vaccine .
And those single protein vaccines are the hepatitis B vaccine and the human papillomavirus vaccine.1 2 Dr. Offit ’ s explanations leave you thinking , “ There must be more to it than that.
” In fact , there is .
Another of the initial hits you may get from your Google search is “ How Vaccines Are Made ” on website of The History of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ informed and comprehensive , five-step explanation of what goes into making a vaccine.3 The first step is the “ generation of the antigen used to induce an immune response.
” This step includes the “ growth and harvesting of the pathogen itself ( for later inactivation or isolation of a subunit ) or generation of a recombinant protein ( a protein made with DNA technology ) derived from that pathogen .
The page explains that recombinant proteins can be “ manufactured in cultures of bacterial cells or yeast.
” It explains that viruses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( sometimes derived from chicken embryos ) and bacteria are grown in “ devices using a growth medium developed to optimize the yield of the antigen while maintaining its integrity.
” 3 The second step is to “ release the antigen from the cells and isolate from the material used in its growth.
” The page notes that “ proteins and other parts of the growth medium may still be present and must be removed in the next step ” and that the “ goal of this stage is to release as much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The third step is the “ purification of the antigen.
” The page explains that for vaccines that are made from “ recombinant proteins , ” this may involve a method of separating materials called “ chromatography ” and ultrafiltration .
It notes that “ inactivation may occur.
” 3 The fourth step may involve the addition of an adjuvant , which is the “ material that nonspecifically enhances immune responses.
” Additionally , vaccines may also include “ stabilizers to prolong shelf-life or preservatives to allow multi-dose vials to be used safely.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ last step “ combines all components that make up the final vaccine and uniformly mixes them in a single vessel.
” Then , the vaccine is poured into a “ vial or syringe packages , sealed with sterile stoppers or plungers , and labeled for widespread distribution.
” 3 There are a lot more ingredients in vaccines other than lab-altered viruses and bacteria , including potentially toxic ingredients .
All you have to do is take a look at the list of excipients included in U.S. vaccines published by the U.S. Centers for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .4 So why would a vaccine developer promoting mandatory use of vaccines like Dr. Offit offer such a simplistic explanation about the process of how vaccines are made ?
Could it be that he doesn ’ t want to tell people the whole truth because he is afraid they will start asking questions ?
It reminds me of parents who answer their children ’ s question about where babies come from by telling them about the stork .
It may work in the short term but fairy tales don ’ t hold up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ provides referenced information and perspective on a topic related to vaccine science , policy , law or ethics being discussed in public forums and by U.S. lawmakers .
The websites of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ( DHHS ) provide information and perspective of federal agencies responsible for vaccine research , development , regulation and policymaking .