What a wonderful holiday weekend it has been.  I was lucky enough to have Thanksgiving Day off, including this weekend, so I’ve taken advantage of the chill time!  

Spare time has been plentiful, so I made a quick clip on what a live attenuated vaccine is…you can thank my mom for this one.

Here ya go!

So, if you didn’t catch the idea in the video, I’ll give it to you in words now. 

A live attenuated vaccine is made of real live germs (bacteria or viruses) that are grown in a cell culture where they are well nourished.  Researchers grow the germs over and over again in order to weaken them so they cannot produce serious disease.  Best beware though, they can still cause infection! 

The process of growing the virus or bacteria over and over again is called passing.  The weakened germs that have gone through multiple passages are what’s used in the vaccines. 

Examples of live attenuated vaccines are: MMR vaccine (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella), Oral Polio vaccine (OPV), Varicella (chickenpox) vaccine,  and the FluMist vaccine (nasal flu vaccine spray). 

There’s a nasal vaccine spray for the H1N1 virus, though I haven’t seen it around, am not sure of the name, and don’t know if it’s available yet – I’ll definitely get more details on that one for you! 

It’s Christmas tree decorating time now so gotta run.  Send some feedback and questions to me at Cate@getpharmacyadvice.com.

I know you’ve heard this before, but I will mention it again - we have a video course out there that explains how you can save money on your prescription medications.  The best part is that it’s totally FREE!  Click here to get instant access. 

Enjoy!