The Different Types Of Vaccines

The different types of vaccines

Vaccines are biological drugs that consist of killed, weakened pathogens or parts thereof, as well as auxiliary substances. Basically there are two types of vaccines: live vaccines and dead vaccines. Find out which vaccines protect against which infectious diseases.

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• What are live vaccines?
• What are dead vaccines?
• Which vaccines against which disease?

What are live vaccines?

During the production of live vaccines, pathogens are weakened by special processes and thereby lose - partially or completely - their disease-causing properties. However, they can still trigger a defense reaction in the body. The weakened pathogens remain capable of multiplying and can lead to reactions in the human body similar to those of an illness. One speaks of a "vaccine disease". In contrast to complaints with a real infection, this reaction is much weaker.

Note Unless otherwise stated in the relevant product information, live vaccines can be administered at the same time as other vaccines at different injection sites. If they are not given at the same time, they should be at least four weeks apart.

What are dead vaccines?

In the production of a dead or toxoid vaccine, the pathogens are killed or inactivated using physical or chemical processes. As a result, they can no longer multiply and cannot cause infection. This can be achieved by destroying a pathogen, for example through heat, or by killing it with the auxiliary materials added. Since inactivated vaccines trigger a weaker immune response (reaction of the immune system to pathogens) than live vaccines, they have to be refreshed at regular intervals.

Note Inactivated vaccines, like live vaccines, can also be administered at the same time (provided this does not contradict the information in the product information). In most cases, it is not necessary to maintain minimum distances from other vaccinations - including live vaccines.

Which vaccines against which disease?

Live vaccine	Dead vaccine	Toxoid vaccine
measles	Hepatitis A	Diphtheria
mumps	Hepatitis B.	tetanus
rubella	Typhus (injection vaccination)
chickenpox	HIB (Haemophilus influenzae type B)
Yellow fever	poliomyelitis
Typhoid (oral vaccination)	whooping cough
	Meningococci
	Pneumococci
	rabies
	flu
	cholera
	TBE (tick vaccination)
	Japanese encephalitis