{"id":111095,"date":"2020-05-15T09:08:44","date_gmt":"2020-05-15T13:08:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.oviahealth.com\/guide\/111095\/how-vaccines-work-pregnancy-2\/"},"modified":"2025-06-11T10:18:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T14:18:12","slug":"how-vaccines-work-pregnancy-2","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.oviahealth.com\/guide\/111095\/how-vaccines-work-pregnancy-2\/","title":{"rendered":"How vaccines work"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You may already understand just how important vaccines are to help keep you, your family, and your community safe. Vaccines are one of the strongest tools of preventative medicine that we have to protect against disease and illness \u2013 but you may not know exactly how they work.  We\u2019re here to walk you through the details. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When someone gets sick, their body is often able to build up an immunity to the disease they\u2019ve encountered \u2014 but they have to first fight off the disease and recover. An invading germ \u2014 like a virus or bacteria \u2014 enters and attacks the body, multiplies, and causes illness. In response, the body\u2019s immune system springs into action. White blood cells, also called immune cells, help fight the infection, in part by producing proteins, called antibodies. Antibodies identify the invading germs, enabling the white blood cells to attack them and fight off infection. Many antibodies are precise, responding to only specific types of germs. For example, antibodies that fight the flu are not the same as those that fight chickenpox.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this way, the immune system is a carefully orchestrated powerhouse built to  fight off invading germs. And once a person has produced antibodies to a particular virus or bacteria, they\u2019ve developed an immunity to that particular disease. However, sometimes the response is too late to prevent serious illness or complications. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is where vaccines come in \u2014 they help a person build immunity to disease without having to get very sick first. Vaccines are built from dead or weakened forms of a virus or bacteria, a piece of virus or bacteria, or a byproduct made by bacteria. When a person\u2019s body encounters the vaccine, it produces antibodies, thinking it is responding to a real threat. So the flu vaccine helps the body produce flu antibodies, and the chickenpox vaccines helps the body produce chickenpox antibodies. Those antibodies stay in the body until they are needed, like when the body encounters the actual virus or bacteria. If you encounter flu germs after you\u2019ve had your flu shot, you\u2019re unlikely to get sick. If you do, you\u2019ll likely only experience mild symptoms.  <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might have noticed that your child\u2019s vaccine schedule in the first year \u2014 and then on through childhood \u2014 contains some vaccines that only need to be administered once, and others that require multiple doses or a \u201cbooster\u201d shot.  The flu vaccine, for example, needs to be given annually because the influenza virus can change so much from year to year, so the vaccine needs to be regularly updated. It\u2019s also worth noting that while some newborn babies are immune to certain diseases because of antibodies received from their mothers, that immunity doesn’t last very long, so it\u2019s important to follow a recommended vaccine schedule to protect  Baby<\/span> from disease.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As always, if you have any questions about how vaccines work or your child\u2019s immunization schedule, make sure to speak with your child\u2019s healthcare provider for more guidance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Reviewed by the Ovia Health Clinical Team<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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