WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A LIVE AND A KILLED VACCINE?
These terms apply to vaccine against viral infection. The goal of vaccination is to present the virus in question to the patients immune system in as natural a way as possible so as to best mimic the stimulation obtained by natural infection yet skip the illness experienced by the patient. There are two ways to achieve this goal. One way is to use killed vaccine. Here, large amounts of dead virus are injected into the patient. They filter into the immune system & lead to stimulation. The other way is to use a live virus that has been “modified” such that actual disease does not result in infection. By using live virus, a more natural stimulation is obtained as the live viruses follow through the same steps of replication that the real (“street”) virus would. Which method is best remains somewhat controversial. Some experts feel that killed vaccine is best as there will never be a chance that the patient can contract the actual disease from the vaccine if a killed vaccine is used. Propo
