Vaccines can help you stay healthy. Learn how vaccines against bacteria and viruses can prevent serious illnesses like pneumonia, diphtheria, pertussis, and meningitis.
Getting sick is always uncomfortable and inconvenient. The good news is that you can prevent many common types of illness.
Critical role of vaccines in general health
Vaccines can help control and prevent a number of infectious diseases, including pneumococcal disease, tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, measles, and meningococcal disease. While these illnesses were once more widespread, vaccines can help manage the number of cases, preventing others from getting sick and controlling the spread of infections. In some cases, vaccines have even been able to help eradicate diseases.
Bacterial vs. viral infections
When you have an infection, doctors can determine whether your illness is caused by bacteria or a virus. Bacteria are single-celled living organisms. Viruses are particles that contain genetic material that need a host cell to reproduce and multiply. While bacterial and viral infections are different, they have one thing in common.
Julie Skinner
Vice President, Bacterial Vaccines & Technology, Pfizer
“A similarity between bacterial and viral infections is that both can result in serious illness and even death,” said Julie Skinner, vice president of bacterial vaccines and technology at Pfizer, a biopharmaceutical company.
Pathogenic bacteria cause diseases
Some bacteria, like gut flora, can be good, but others can make you sick. For example, Streptococcus pneumoniae, the bacteria responsible for pneumococcal disease, is spread through respiratory secretions like saliva and mucus, frequently causing ear infections or sinus problems. It can also cause serious and even fatal complications, such as pneumonia, meningitis — an infection in the lining of the brain and spinal cord — or bacteremia, which happens when bacteria get into the bloodstream, potentially causing sepsis. These complications can be particularly serious when developed in young children or older adults.
Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is another severe bacterial infection. Whooping cough is highly contagious and can be spread by air from person to person. When infected with whooping cough, a person can be contagious for at least two weeks, putting everyone around them at risk. While some people may experience persistent cough and cold symptoms lasting several weeks, the greatest risk is for children. Every year, there are 24 million cases of whooping cough worldwide, which cause more than 160,000 deaths in children under age 5.
Pfizer has extensive experience targeting pathogens to make effective vaccines that help prevent these illnesses. For example, one vaccine covers 20 strain of Streptococcus pneumoniae, offering broad protection against pneumococcal disease. Another vaccine can protect against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis.
Why vaccination is a powerful tool
Vaccinations can help protect individuals, families, and communities. The more people are vaccinated, the better the community’s chance to stay healthy because infectious diseases will be managed or potentially eliminated. Skinner, who has spent most of her career fighting Streptococcus pneumoniae, says vaccines are sometimes underappreciated.
“In many cases, if you’re vaccinated, you could come in contact with a pathogen, and you may never know it,” she said. “So, I look at this as the beauty of vaccines. It’s only if you are unvaccinated and come in contact with these bacteria — that’s when the problems start, when you get symptoms, and when you could end up in the hospital. Vaccines are powerful tools — against both bacterial and viral infections.”
Fighting vaccine misconceptions
One of the biggest misconceptions about vaccines is that getting sick and developing natural immunity is a part of life. “Choosing not to get vaccinated puts a person and those around them — family and community — at greater risk,” Skinner said.
She suggests researching vaccines on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website and talking with your doctor about which vaccines are best for you and your family.
Developing vaccines for Lyme and GBS
Pfizer is developing vaccines for viral and bacterial diseases, including Lyme disease and Group B Streptococcus (GBS). Lyme disease, which affects people of all ages, is a bacterial infection caused by an infected tick’s bite that can cause a range of symptoms, including fever, rash, facial paralysis, an irregular heartbeat, and arthritis.
GBS is a common bacterium that can cause potentially devastating diseases in infants’ first three months of life. If the mother carries the bacteria, it may be passed from infant to mother during labor or delivery. GBS can cause sepsis, pneumonia, and meningitis, which carry a high risk of death for newborns. While antibiotics can treat these illnesses, vaccines against GBS could help prevent over half a million deaths globally each year.
