B2.2 - What are vaccines and antibiotics and how do they work?

View mindmap

B2.2 - Vaccines and Antibiotics
- Herd immunity
  - Epidemic: When a large % of the population has the disease
  - Needs 95% vaccinated
  - When everyone, even the unvaccinated, is protected against disease
- Vaccines
  - Dead pathogens or just the antigens
  - Expose your immune system to the antigen so it can learn to make the antibodies (IMMUNITY)
- Antimicrobials
  - Kill or inhibit growth of microbes
  - Antibiotics = ONLY bacteria
- Resistance
  - Caused by random mutations, and natural selection
- Drug trials
  - Open-label: patient and doctor both know
  - Blind: doctor knows, patient doesn't
  - Placebos: fake drugs
  - Long term - side effects, may not be effective to start with
  - Double blind: neither know
  - 1.cells, animals - safety 2.healthy people - safety 3.ill people - safety, effectiveness
Benefits outweigh risks
- Side effects
  - Some have allergic reaction because of genetic differences
Ethical issues - should give seriously ill people chance of new drug
- Placebos: fake drugs

Similar Biology resources:

See all Biology resources »

See all Medicine and drugs resources »

Comments