Vaccines are incredibly important for prevention of disease; polio, diphtheria, yellow fever, small pox, whopping cough, tetanus and measles are mostly eradicated due to vaccinations. Many new vaccinations are currently in trials for the prevention of a variety of diseases that are non-contagious.
One vaccine that is in the early stages of clinical trials is against breast cancer. The vaccination has had success with patients in the early stages of breast cancer by slowing the progression of the cancer. The vaccination works by targeting mammaglobin, a specific gene expressed in specifically in 80% of breast cancers. The vaccination has only a few side effects, such as soreness at the site of injection, compared to the lengthy lists of side effects that occur with most oncology medications.
A vaccine against Lyme disease has been effective in mice against Lyme borreliosis with no adverse effects.There is still a long time before this vaccination could be approved by the FDA, though the question becomes, who should get this vaccination once it is available? Because Lyme disease is not contagious from person to person, herd immunity is not necessary. The vaccine would be most effective if given to people that are in geographic areas of high risk, such as people living in woodsy areas in the east coast of the United States. On the other hand, someone living in a city setting will most likely not be exposed to ticks containing the bacterium that causes lyme disease.
Both of these vaccines are far from becoming available to the general public, though the progression we are seeing with research with vaccines is promising.
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