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DoctorBME t1_jdnlcif wrote

Reply to comment by CrateDane in Why does tetanus vaccination lasts longer than influenza vaccination? by E-C-A

Additionally, tetanus vaccine is inactivated toxin which targets a very specific binding site. It's easier to block that toxin from binding than an entire virus, which can target an array of cell types and binding sites.

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jawshoeaw t1_jdo711y wrote

Technically no the vaccine doesn’t target anything. Maybe you were thinking about the antiserum given in emergencies.

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simojako t1_jdosn9m wrote

>Technically no the vaccine doesn’t target anything

Is this some weird pedantism about that it's the antibodies that does the targeting?

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mrcatboy t1_jdpjltx wrote

It's actually a very important distinction. A vaccine just exposes a specific protein target to the host's immune system.

Thing is, each host immune system is going to create a completely different cocktail of antibodies to bind that protein. Suppose you and I got vaccinated for covid with the same vaccine. If you compared our resulting antibodies they would be completely different and also likely bind to different parts of the target protein.

The process of developing immunity is a pretty big subject and it's important to emphasize that.

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jawshoeaw t1_jdost7y wrote

It’s not pedantic unless you think it’s pedantic to correct someone’s factually incorrect statement. His claim was wrong in several ways and anyone reading it would misinformed

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simojako t1_jdotltp wrote

Everyone in the world knows what someone mean when they that a vaccine targets something.

You didn't even correct, you just said "technically the vaccine doesn't target anything".

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