Immunity can be achieved
Actively by using antigens (eg, vaccines, toxoids)
Passively by using antibodies (eg, immune globulins, antitoxins)
A toxoid is a bacterial toxin that has been modified to be nontoxic but that can still stimulate antibody formation.
A vaccine is a suspension of whole (live or inactivated) or fractionated bacteria or viruses rendered nonpathogenic. For vaccines available in the US, see Table: Vaccines Available in the US.
The most current recommendations for immunization are available at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) web site and as a free mobile app. Also see Table: Vaccine Administration Guidelines for Adults, see Table: Recommended Immunization Schedule for Ages 7–18 Years (see also the CDC#39;s Recommended Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule), and see Table: Vaccine Administration Guidelines for Adults (see also the CDC#39;s Recommended Adult Immunization Schedule).
For the contents of each vaccine (including additives), see that vaccine#39;s package insert.
Vaccination has been extremely effective in preventing serious disease and in improving health worldwide. Because of vaccines, infections that were once very common and/or fatal (eg, smallpox, polio, diphtheria) are now rare or have been eliminated. However, except for smallpox, these infections still occur in parts of the developing world.
Effective vaccines are not yet available for many important infections, including
Most sexually transmitted diseases (eg, HIV infection, herpes, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydial infections)
Tick-borne infections (eg, Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis, babesiosis)
Many tropical diseases (eg, malaria, Chikungunya disease, dengue)
Emerging diseases (eg, coronavirus infections such as COVID-19, West Nile virus infection)
Certain vaccines are recommended routinely for all adults at certain ages who have not previously been vaccinated or have no evidence of previous infection. Other vaccines (eg, rabies, bacille Calmette-Gu#233;rin, typhoid, yellow fever) are not routinely given but are recommended only for specific people and circumstances (see the CDC#39;s Recommended Adult Immunization Schedule and under the specific disorder, elsewhere in THE MANUAL; 1).
Some adults do not get the vaccines recommended for them. For example, only 55.1% of those gt; 65 were given a tetanus vaccine within a 10-year period. Also, vaccination rates tend to be lower in blacks, Asians, and Hispanics than in whites.
(See also PATH#39;s Vaccine Resource Library.)
