One of five vaccine types. This type contains a virus that has been weakened by chemicals or other processes in a laboratory that enables the vaccine to safely get an immune response.
Scientists chemically modify or alter the virus so that it is unable to replicate and therefore it can be safely used in a vaccine: the modification means it cannot cause disease, but it keeps enough of the virus footprint so that the immune system can recognise it in future and effectively fight it. A vaccine produced from a live, attenuated virus typically produces better protection than vaccines using an inactivated virus. See inactivated vaccine.
Categories:
Immune System Vaccines