부산대학교 도서관

Vaccines are a sophisticated and highly regulated product. Their level of sophistication, which dictates their cost and global distribution, lies in the biotechnology used and the complex delivery system in place to ensure their effectiveness in the real world. Private companies and academic institutions lead the research effort to develop and test in clinical trials new vaccine formulations that will prove both effective and safe for the consumer. Those vaccine types include the presentation of the antigen itself, from live-attenuated virus to a fragment of messenger-RNA—each with a different cost for development and production. While pharmaceutical and manufacturers supply vaccines, international agencies and governments will select them and organize their distribution. Governments set standards on how vaccines are made available to the consumer using an immunization schedule and an immunization program (e.g., routine immunization vs. supplemental immunization activities. Extensive public regulation is commonly used to ensure vaccines have their optimal effectiveness both for the individual they protect and people who benefit from secondary protection via herd immunity.