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Science

Champion An Incredible Visit

6D Ng Hang Yu

Yesterday was a Sunday, just like any other Sunday, I went shopping with my mum. Out of the blue, a giant living
thing which looked like a syringe appeared in front of us. It said, “Nice to meet you! I am Vaccine King! Follow me to know
more about vaccines!” It then held me and my mum’s hands and cast a magic spell.
Surprisingly, we were not in the shopping mall anymore, we were surrounded by syringes which looked like Vaccine
King. “Welcome to the Vaccine World! You will be introduced to the great world of vaccines!” Vaccine King said excitedly,
smiling at us. “Vaccines are products that protect people against dangerous and deadly diseases. Therefore, vaccines are
very important to us.”
“Is there only one kind of vaccine?” I asked. “Of course not! Vaccines have an amazingly long history, and the first
vaccine was invented in 1796. In the 1930s, antitoxins and vaccines against a larger range of diseases were developed.
Also, the improvements in mRNA vaccines are propitious signs of future vaccine innovation. Lessons learned from the
COVID-19 pandemic provide valuable insight into the development of other vaccines. Isn’t that awe-inspiring?” it asked
enthusiastically.
“Yes! But how exactly do vaccines help us?” “Little boy, you have a lot of questions!” it said, laughing, “We have a
defense system in our body called the immune system. When an enemy, a pathogen went into our body, the antibodies,
the soldiers in our immune system will protect us by responding to the antigen, a part of the pathogen. However, when
the antibodies meet a new pathogen, they need time to respond to the antigen. Vaccines contain weakened or inactive
antigen that triggers an immune response within the body. It causes the person’s immune system to respond so that it can
have a first reaction to the actual pathogen. In this way, the body is trained to fight the specific enemy so as to rapidly fight
it if it attacks again in the future.”
“I can’t help appreciating the invention of vaccines! Nevertheless, not everyone can get vaccinated, how can the ones
not vaccinated get protection?” “What an interesting question! As a matter of fact, when a lot of people in a community
are vaccinated, the pathogen has a hard time circulating because most of the people it encounters are immune. So,
people who are unable to be protected by vaccines can avoid being exposed to the harmful pathogens. This is called herd
immunity,” it answered. Just as I wanted to ask another question, the Vaccine King disturbed, “No more questions. It is
already time for you to go. Bye!” Then in a matter of milliseconds, we were back in the shopping mall.

I looked at my watch, more than an hour had passed since we got into the astonishing Vaccine World. “Did I have
a dream, Mum?” I asked jokingly. “No, my son. I was shocked by what just happened too,” my mum replied. And our
unbelievable day ended in laughter.

Reference:
https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/how-do-vaccines-work
https://www.atlantichealthpartners.com/immunization-insights-1/key-vaccine-innovations-throughout-history
https://www.historyofvaccines.org/timeline/all

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