TromboneAl
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2006
- Messages
- 12,880
Pretty interesting that we give a vaccine for something that is already present in the body. That is, usually a vaccine is a killed or weakened organism, and it gives the body a chance to develop antibodies for the real thing.
But in this case, the real thing has been in the body for 40 years or so, and the body has already produced antibodies (i.e. you never get chickenpox again). So why doesn't the body already have resistance?
Today's Interesting Fact: The word "Vaccine" comes from "Vacca" or "Cow" -- one of the first vaccines was the administration of cow pox to prevent someone from getting smallpox. And that's why Rich has a cow in his avatar!
But in this case, the real thing has been in the body for 40 years or so, and the body has already produced antibodies (i.e. you never get chickenpox again). So why doesn't the body already have resistance?
Today's Interesting Fact: The word "Vaccine" comes from "Vacca" or "Cow" -- one of the first vaccines was the administration of cow pox to prevent someone from getting smallpox. And that's why Rich has a cow in his avatar!