What does a vaccine contain?

A vaccine contains antigenic material, which may be a live weakened pathogen, a killed pathogen, an inactivated toxin, or purified surface antigens made by genetic engineering.

What kind of vaccine is used against rubella?

Rubella is vaccinated against with a live attenuated virus, whose virulence has been reduced so that it stimulates immunity without producing the disease.

What is a toxoid vaccine, and name a disease it is used against?

A toxoid vaccine contains a bacterial toxin that has been chemically inactivated so that it still stimulates antibody production but can no longer cause harm, and it is used against tetanus.

Eduqas A-Level Biology A400QS

Biological Molecules

Topic overview Inorganic ions and the properties of water Monosaccharides and disaccharides Polysaccharides, storage and structure Lipids, triglycerides and phospholipids Amino acids and protein structure Condensation, hydrolysis and the food tests

Cell Structure and Organisation

Topic overview The nucleus and the endomembrane system Mitochondria, chloroplasts and other organelles Prokaryotic cells and viruses Cell theory, microscopy and measuring cells Comparing cells and the levels of organisation

Cell Membranes and Transport

Topic overview The fluid-mosaic model Factors affecting membrane permeability Diffusion and facilitated diffusion Osmosis and water potential Active transport and bulk transport Determining water potential in practice

Enzymes

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Nucleic Acids and Their Functions

Topic overview Nucleotides and the structure of ATP ATP as the energy currency of the cell The structure of DNA Comparing DNA and RNA Semi-conservative replication The genetic code Transcription Translation and the fate of the polypeptide Extracting DNA from living material

Importance of ATP

Topic overview ATP synthetase and the synthesis of ATP Chemiosmosis and the electrochemical gradient Proton pumps and the electron transport chain Membranes of mitochondria and chloroplasts compared Investigating dehydrogenase activity

Photosynthesis

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Respiration

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Microbiology

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Sexual Reproduction in Humans

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Sexual Reproduction in Plants

Topic overview Flower structure and the contrast between wind and insect pollination The development of pollen grains and ovules Pollination and double fertilisation The formation and structure of seed and fruit Germination of Vicia faba and the action of gibberellin

Inheritance

Topic overview Alleles, monohybrid inheritance and codominance Dihybrid inheritance and linkage The chi squared test and testing genetic ratios Sex linkage, haemophilia and Duchenne muscular dystrophy Mutation, mutagens and epigenetics

Variation and Evolution

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Application of Reproduction and Genetics

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Adaptations for Gas Exchange

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Adaptations for Transport

Topic overview Vascular systems compared across animal groups The mammalian heart and blood vessels The cardiac cycle and its control Blood, haemoglobin and dissociation curves The Bohr effect, chloride shift and tissue fluid The root and the uptake of water The endodermis and the entry to the xylem Xylem, transpiration and cohesion-tension The potometer and xerophytes and hydrophytes Phloem and translocation

Adaptations for Nutrition

Topic overview Modes of nutrition Saprotrophic nutrition Holozoic nutrition and the unicellular gut From a sac-like gut to a tube gut The human gut and the effect of diet Herbivores, carnivores and parasites

Homeostasis and the Kidney

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The Nervous System

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Immunology and Disease: Disease and Its TransmissionImmunology

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Immunology and Disease: AntibioticsImmunology

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Immunology and Disease: The Immune ResponseImmunology

Topic overview Natural barriers to infection Inflammation, clotting and phagocytosis Antigens, B lymphocytes and the humoral response Cell-mediated immunity and T lymphocytes Active and passive immunity Vaccination programmes and their ethics

Human Musculoskeletal Anatomy: Skeletal TissuesMusculoskeletal

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Human Musculoskeletal Anatomy: Structure and Function of the SkeletonMusculoskeletal

Topic overview The axial and appendicular skeleton The girdles and the bones of the limbs The vertebral column and its vertebrae Fractures and postural deformities The functions of the skeleton

Human Musculoskeletal Anatomy: JointsMusculoskeletal

Topic overview Types of joint in the human body The structure of a synovial joint Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis Joints as levers Antagonistic muscle action in the forelimb

Neurobiology and Behaviour: The BrainNeurobiology

Topic overview The structure of the human brain The functions of the cerebrum, cerebellum and medulla oblongata The hypothalamus and the control of the endocrine system The sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems Sensory and motor areas, the homunculus and language

Neurobiology and Behaviour: NeuroscienceNeurobiology

Topic overview Non-invasive study of the brain: CT and MRI Functional imaging: fMRI, PET and EEG Brain development and critical periods Neuroplasticity Gene expression, brain development and mental illness

Neurobiology and Behaviour: BehaviourNeurobiology

Topic overview Innate behaviour: escape reflexes, kineses and taxes Habituation and imprinting Classical and operant conditioning Primate societies and the costs and benefits of group living Insect castes, dominance hierarchies, territory and courtship

Immunology and Disease: The Immune Response

Vaccination programmes and their ethics

3 things to know
Component 3

Overview

Vaccine is used against rubella, toxoid vaccine and herd immunity.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

Why are booster doses of a vaccine given?

Key term

Explain how a vaccine produces lasting protection without the person suffering the disease.

Key term

Why is the whole population vaccinated against rubella rather than girls alone?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What does a vaccine contain?
Model answer
A vaccine contains antigenic material, which may be a live weakened pathogen, a killed pathogen, an inactivated toxin, or purified surface antigens made by genetic engineering.
2
Explain how a vaccine produces lasting protection without the person suffering the disease.
Model answer
The antigens in the vaccine are recognised as foreign and provoke a full primary response, so the person leaves with memory cells specific to the pathogen even though the material given was never able to cause illness.
3
What kind of vaccine is used against rubella?
Model answer
Rubella is vaccinated against with a live attenuated virus, whose virulence has been reduced so that it stimulates immunity without producing the disease.
4
Why is the whole population vaccinated against rubella rather than girls alone?
Model answer
Rubella is dangerous chiefly because it causes deafness, eye damage and heart defects in a fetus, and vaccinating everybody stops the virus circulating at all, so pregnant women are never exposed to it.
5
What is a toxoid vaccine, and name a disease it is used against?
Model answer
A toxoid vaccine contains a bacterial toxin that has been chemically inactivated so that it still stimulates antibody production but can no longer cause harm, and it is used against tetanus.
6
Why are booster doses of a vaccine given?
Model answer
A second or later exposure to the antigen triggers a secondary response, which raises the antibody level much higher and greatly increases the number of memory cells, so protection is stronger and lasts longer.

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