• Question: why do all vactionations need to be injected

    Asked by r3v3ng3r220851 to Kath on 14 Jun 2011. This question was also asked by olimar13.
    • Photo: Kath O'Reilly

      Kath O'Reilly answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      They don’t! So most do, like the one you probably remember, say rubella, or measles. But for polio, the vaccine that is used in Africa and Asia is a oral vaccine, two drops of the vaccine on your tongue and its all done. see http://www.polioeradication.org/ for pictures

      Why? Well the polio vaccine is a oral vaccine because it helps your immune system in your gut. For mealses and rubella vaccines, they help your immune system in your blood. This depends on where the pathogen lives; for polio the virus lives in your gut, and for measles the virus lives in your blood.

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