The human immune system protects us from viruses, parasites, cancers, and even wood splinters. And it has ‘canned’ reactions providing pre-configured responses. But, it is also able to tailor its defenses to particular stimuli according to previous infections. Vaccines simulate infections allowing the system to prepare.
Three Major Components of the Human Immune System
A Biological Cascade of Innate Antibodies
Our innate immune system has an armory of over twenty different proteins, able to destroy invading pathogens causing disease. These ‘antibodies’ first identify an invader and trigger a rapid response. This then generates a general catalytic chemical reaction.
This response first coats the surface of invading cells to mark them. And then it learns to destroy them. But a vaccine preloads information about a particular virus, training these antibodies in advance.
T and B Cells in the Adaptive Immune Process
However, the adaptive immune response allows an even more powerful immune reaction. That’s because it also enables the human immune system to remember a specific pathogen, by its unique biological signature. The information that empowers this tailored response is stored in ‘memory cells’.
There are two types of these memory banks of chemical data:
1… Monitoring B Cells manufacture Y-shaped protein antibodies specific to particular pathogens. These circulate in our blood stream monitoring for a particular invader. When they discover it, they trigger an accelerated and robust secondary immune response.
2… Killing T Cells mature in our bone marrow, ready to respond to a specific secondary immune alarm. They secrete chemical messengers called cytokines. These summon appropriate helper cells to join the counter attack. The result is a coordinated, effective defense against an invading pathogen.
Tailored T and B Cells develop naturally following an infection. However, vaccines pre-empt this process by presenting harmless triggers enabling the body to learn. Vaccination continues to be the most effective manipulation of the immune system available. And hence the best defense against the COVID-19 invasion.
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Preview Image: Primary Immune Response
