vaccine types

Live attenuated vaccine

Vaccine made from weakened virus; less safe but longest lasting

Inactivated vaccine

Vaccine made from chemically inactivated virus; safer than attenuated, typically requires boosters

Subunit vaccine

Vaccine made from isolated antigenic fragments; cannot cause infection, may require conjugation as polysaccharide antigens are difficult for a child’s immune system to respond to

Nucleic acid vaccinations

Works by injecting plasmids with viral DNA into a host cell, where transcription and translation produce proteins which act as antigens and elicit an immune response