The next section in the Body of Knowledge is

01. EPIDEMIOLOGY (10%)
02. Geographic specificity/global distribution of diseases and potential health hazards

This is a very general topic and too much to cover all at one time; however, further down is a review of diseases and health hazards so this information gets broken down later into manageable chunks.

I decided to move on to the next section which is the basics of vaccines.  The topics specifically mentioned are live vaccines, inactivated vaccines and measurement of immune response but there are other types of vaccines which I’ve touched on as well for completion.  Measurements of immune response as well as the next section on handling, storage, and disposal of vaccines and related supplies can be covered under each individual vaccine.

02. IMMUNOLOGY/VACCINOLOGY (20%)

01. Basic concepts and principles

Live vaccines: Use a live but weakened form of the infectious agent causing a disease.  They are very similar to the original disease so they provide good, long-lasting protection.  Some things to consider is that they are live so need to be refrigerated which is difficult in some areas and they may not be advisable for people with weakened immune systems.  Examples include: MMR, rotavirus, polio (oral only not shot which is inactivated), influenza (intranasal only not shot which is inactivated), smallpox, chickenpox and yellow fever. 

Inactivated vaccines: Use a previously live but now killed (or inactivated) form of the infectious agent causing a disease.  The immune response to these is not as strong as to a live vaccine so more doses/boosters may be needed.  Examples include: hepatitis A, influenza (shot only not nasal which is live), polio (again shots only not oral which is live) and rabies.

Subunit, recombinant, polysaccharide and conjugate vaccines: Use pieces of the infectious agent causing a disease, such as its protein, sugar or capsid.  Like inactivated vaccines, they are safe for immunocompromised individuals but booster shots will likely be required to maintain immunity.  Examples include: HIB, hepatitis B, HPV, pertussis, pneumococcal disease, meningococcal disease.

Toxoid vaccines: Use a toxin from the infectious agent causing a disease to generate an immune response against the toxin.  As with the other types of vaccines that are not live, booster shots are usually needed.  Examples include: diphtheria and tetanus. 

This information was obtained from hhs.gov/immunization/basics/types/index.html.

Additionally, something to become familiar with is the recommended schedules for vaccines.  This information can be found at: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/imz/child-adolescent.html#birth-15  It can be overwhelming at first but will be covered several times throughout the material and it is extremely helpful to know.