Who Gets the Vaccine?
Overview
Students investigate the importance of vaccines in disease prevention and consider complex social and medical issues when they have to decide who should get the limited supplies of vaccine in a fictional outbreak of an infectious disease.
Learning Objectives (science content)
In order to better understand the use of vaccines for disease prevention, students should be able to:
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Describe how vaccines work to prevent disease.
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Explain herd immunity.
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Explain how the immune system works to provide immunity to disease.
Note: For socio-scientific issues learning objectives, see Teacher SSI Professional Development pages.
Scenario
Your community has been struggling to
contain an epidemic of a deadly infectious
disease. After months of limiting activities
and practicing strict prevention measures,
scientists have finally released a vaccine
that could protect people from the disease.
You know a vaccine is the answer to stopping the spread of the epidemic.
As the public health officer for your community, you have an important role in providing the latest information on infectious diseases. Your community has looked to your health department for the information they need to stay healthy. You have worked hard to keep the patient cases as low as possible.
Now, you have another challenge.
The new vaccine is critical for preventing the disease and saving lives. But, there is not enough vaccine for everyone. You know it may be a while before enough vaccine can be produced to allow everyone the protection they need from this disease. The epidemic has spread throughout the country and every community is dealing with the need for the vaccine.
You have to decide who is going to receive the vaccines that are available now. It’s not an easy decision. You will be deciding who will be protected from the disease—and who will not.
You decide to form a committee that will
consider all the information about the
disease and vaccines. You know you will
have to answer a lot of questions from the
health community as well as the general
public. There will be a town hall meeting
soon to discuss the information and answer any questions that come from the audience. You and your co-workers on the committee will present the information and will make recommendations concerning the vaccine policy.
Your Tasks
● Find out how vaccines work to prevent disease. You should be prepared to answer questions from the audience about why vaccines are an important protection against disease and why a vaccine could stop the spread of the virus.
● Decide who should get the limited supplies of vaccines first and also decide what groups of people should receive the vaccine next.
You know you have to find the answers quickly and accurately to include in your presentation at the town meeting. Your work will go a long way to keeping your community safe from this disease.
Be prepared to defend your committee’s position and answer questions from groups at the town meeting.
Guiding Questions:
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How do vaccines work to prevent disease?
Be prepared to answer questions from the general public about how vaccines prevent disease.
2. Think about groups of people who you will consider for immunization.
These groups may include:
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young children
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adolescents
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elderly people
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people with illnesses
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vulnerable populations such as those with chronic (long-lasting) health conditions
Make your own list of people you will consider. You can use some of the people listed in the list above, but your committee’s list should include other groups you want to consider.
3. Are there other ways that might protect people from becoming infected with the virus while they wait for the vaccine?
Support material for this module includes:
How Vaccines Protect Against Disease
Protecting the Elderly Against Disease
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