Types of Vaccine - How They're Created

There are different ways vaccines can be created. The main types are described below.

Vaccines can also have chemicals called adjuvants added to them. These enahce the body's response to the vaccine. Examples include aluminium phosphate and aluminium hydroxide.

Types of Vaccine - What They Protect Against

Vaccines can be aimed at one pathogen or multiple pathogens.

Monovalent vaccines protect against a single antigen or pathogen.

Combination vaccines protect agaist multiple strains of the same pathogen or multiple pathogens in the same vaccine.

Combination vaccines were developed to try and reduce the number of injections required as part of the vaccination schedule. They have to be rigorously tested before use to ensure:

• The immune response to each component is as effective as if the vaccines were given separately.
• The rate of adverse reactions is comaprable to those seen with individual vaccines.

Even with combination vaccines, babies and children may still receive multiple vaccines at once. E.g. in the UK, a 2 month-old is routinely given the 6-in-1, Rotavirus and MenB vaccines during a single visit.