History
How Vaccines Work
Disease
100

This physician is credited with developing the world's first successful vaccine in 1796 by using cowpox matter to protect against smallpox.

Who is Dr. Edward Jenner?

100

A vaccine consists of this, which is sufficient to prompt the body to generate a novel antibody response

What is an attenuated or inactivated antigen

100

This disease, which caused severe scarring, blindness, and had a high mortality rate, was eradicated in 1980 through a global vaccination campaign led by the World Health Organization."

What is smallpox

200

In 1796, Dr. Edward Jenner used material from this disease to inoculate an 8-year-old boy, leading to the first successful smallpox vaccine

What is cowpox

200

This is developed by the body to identify and eradicate a novel pathogen after encountering a vaccine or the actual antigen

What is an antibody

200

This initiative, launched in 1988 by the WHO, UNICEF, and partners, focused on widespread immunization and surveillance to drive the global eradication of polio.

What is the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI)

300

In 1894, Dr. Anna Wessels Williams isolated a strain of bacteria that was crucial in developing an antitoxin for this potentially fatal disease

What is diphtheria

300

This small piece of genetic material is delivered by certain vaccines to instruct cells to produce a viral protein

What is mRNA

300

This disease causes severe muscle spasms, beginning with lockjaw, and can lead to difficulty swallowing or breathing

What is tetanus?

400

This pandemic, which occurred between 1918 and 1919, is considered one of the deadliest in history, infecting about one-third of the world's population

What is the Spanish Flu

400

The mRNA vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 instructs cells to produce this protein found on the virus’s surface, which triggers an immune response

What is the spike protein

400

This has contributed to the recent rise in MMR cases, as fewer people are receiving the recommended vaccines, reducing herd immunity and allowing outbreaks to occur

What is vaccine hesitancy and declining immunization rates?