What is a vaccination?

Prevention!: A vaccination is a medicine, usually injected (sometimes given orally) which causes your body to produce immune cells against a certain disease. The vaccine "fools" the body into producing antibodies, so that when a person is exposed to that disease later in life, immunity is already present. Prevention of these diseases is much better than trying to cure them once you get them!

Immune booster: A way to provide immunity to an infection without having to get sick first. Example: haemophilus influenzae (h. Flu) is a bacteria that causes meningitis. H. Flu vaccine shows polysaccharide (sugar) pieces of h. Flu to a child's immune system tied to a protein which helps the young immune system "see" the germ and make antibodies against it. If infection occurs, those antibodies prevent illness.

Flu shot: Vaccinations help boost the immune system in order to prevent or lessen the severity of several different diseases such as the flu or tetanus.