Science NIE ACTIVITY Science Matters!

is a series presented in
collaboration with the Connecticut Academy of

MATTERS!
Science and Engineering and the
The Discovery Museum.
For more information, visit www.ctcase.org
… IN CONNECTICUT or call 860.571-7143.

Vaccines: An Ounce of Prevention

is Worth a Pound of Cure
By Paul R. Skolnik, M.D., Chair and Professor of Medicine at UConn Health

Vaccines that protect against infectious diseases are among the greatest successes of
modern medicine, preventing diseases such as rabies, polio, measles, mumps, human
papilloma virus (the cause of cervical cancer), pertussis (whooping cough), and tetanus.
Edward Jenner invented the world’s first vaccine, against smallpox, as suggested to
him by watching cow maids who were protected by prior exposure to cowpox. Vaccines
protect the individual and the larger population. The protection of large groups of people
is the essence of public health.
Vaccines often work through prompting the body to make antibodies. Antibodies
protect humans from infection and are made by certain cells in the body in response
to infection or vaccination.
Recently, there was an outbreak of measles, a disease that is rare in the US due to
vaccination, at Disneyland in California. Unfortunately, some children were not vaccinated
and the disease then spread to several different states. The lack of vaccination of children
who were exposed to measles caused them to contract this highly contagious disease
that can have complications of brain infection and death. The outbreak ended through
vaccination campaigns and isolation of infected individuals.
This is just one example of the interplay between ethics, public policy, population health
and the wishes of individuals and their parents. For the best choices to be made, it is
crucial that accurate scientific information drive decision-making. A scientific article
that linked measles vaccination with autism was found to be fraudulent and an example Sites to Visit
of scientific misconduct. Unfortunately, before the article was retracted, many people
Riedel S. Edward Jenner and the history of smallpox and vaccination. http://www.ncbi.
came to inappropriately fear this highly effective and safe vaccine.
nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1200696/
Vaccines are now being developed as part of personalized medicine that is specific for
each individual, to treat cancer and other serious diseases. For example, new cancer
Pearce JMS. Historical note: Louis Pasteur and Rabies:
vaccines use pieces of the patient’s own tumor to elicit an immune response against the
tumor using the body’s natural defenses which are boosted by vaccination. http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/73/1/82.full

We are still testing and working to discover certain vaccines. It is likely that a vaccine
against Ebola Virus Disease will soon become available. Vaccines to protect against
other diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, have been difficult to prepare—work to develop this
particular vaccine has been ongoing since the mid-1980s.
SKILLS + KNOWLEDGE
While you’re in school, study hard and do well in whatever your passion may be, so that
you can continue in college. If you are interested in working with vaccines, you may need
to attend graduate school, medical school, or a school of public health. For now, you can
read about things going on around you in newspapers, magazines, and other places for
information about health issues and solutions, and how towns, states, countries, and
regions deal with these problems. Ask questions of your teachers and others who may
be able to connect you with people in the medical, scientific, and public health areas.
Careers that touch on the invention, production, provision, and use of vaccines include:
immunologists, epidemiologists, doctors, nurses, public health officials, government
officials, and pharmaceutical personnel.
MEET THE SCIENTIST
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Vaccine Education Center. Talking About Vaccines With
Dr. Paul Offit, video series, http://vec.chop.edu/service/vaccine-education-center/
Common Core State Standards (CCSS): Mathematics
• CCSS.Math.Practice.MP1 Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
• CCSS.Math.Practice.MP3 Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of
others.
• CCSS.Math.Practice.MP4 Model with mathematics
• CCSS.Math.Practice.MP5 Use appropriate tools strategically
Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE):
Science Framework
• Scientific inquiry is a thoughtful and coordinated attempt to search out, describe,
explain and predict natural phenomena.
• Scientific inquiry progresses through a continuous process of questioning, data collec-
tion, analysis and interpretation.
• Scientific inquiry requires the sharing of findings and ideas for critical review by col-
leagues and other scientists.

I have always enjoyed science and, in particular, immunology. For me, the history of
medicine was captivating. Books and articles by Burton Roeche and Paul de Kruif
were central to my excitement about science. I did science enrichment work in high
school, but I also had a love of music. I was a music major in college and spent
some time at a school of music before deciding to pursue a career in medicine. While
in college, I spent time in an immunology laboratory and I continued to work in a
laboratory during medical school. I did specialized training in infectious diseases
and studied viral infections, with special work with HIV. I went on to lead a division
of infectious diseases in a teaching hospital and am now chair of medicine in an
academic medical center.