Our immune system generally fights any harmful microbes that may enter our bodies. Another means of helping our immune system is through vaccinations. Vaccines are used to prevent, rather than treat, infection.

Vaccines can be made from weak or inactive versions of the same microbes that make us ill. In some cases, the vaccines are made from cells which are similar to, but not exact copies of, the microbe cells that make us ill. New messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines, like some of the COVID-19 vaccines, teach our cells how to make a protein, or piece of protein, to trigger an immune response inside our bodies. Through each of these mechanisms, an immune response is triggered in our bodies and antibodies are produced. This is why all vaccines can protect us from getting infected with different diseases. While mRNA vaccines are newly available to the public, researchers have been investigating this for decades. All vaccines, no matter what disease it is for, goes through rigorous processes to ensure that they are safe and effective before being offered to the public.

In this lesson plan, students read the story of how Edward Jenner discovered vaccination and act out a role play of the discovery. They are also introduced to the concept of how vaccinations work and the difference they have made in our lives today.