Year 9 Science · Unit 1 · Lesson 8

Vaccination and Immunity

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Learning Goals

Trace the cause-and-effect chain of how an mRNA vaccine produces immunity
Compare active and passive immunity across multiple features
Connect the Australian vaccination program to the concept of herd immunity

Warm Up

Because… chain

Fill in the missing effects. Each cause leads to the next step in how an mRNA vaccine (such as the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine) creates immunity. The first and last boxes are given.

mRNA vaccine is injected into muscle cells

→

Spike protein appears on cell surface

→

B cells are activated

→

Antibodies specific to spike protein are produced

→

mRNA degrades within days, no DNA is altered

→

Protection achieved: memory cells persist for future immunity

Overall outcome (in your own words):

Your Turn

Compare two

Complete the table to compare active immunity and passive immunity. Use information from the lesson, most cells should be filled by you.

Feature	Active immunity	Passive immunity
How it is acquired
Speed of protection (how quickly it works)
Duration (how long it lasts)
Memory cells formed?
Two real-life examples
Relevance to Australia's NIP vaccination program

Show What You Know

1. Explain why a person who has had measles naturally is considered to have stronger, longer-lasting immunity than someone who received only one dose of the measles vaccine, and why we still recommend vaccination over natural infection.

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2. A traveller heading to a region with rabies receives a post-exposure injection of rabies immunoglobulin (ready-made antibodies) immediately after a dog bite. Identify the type of immunity provided and explain one limitation of this treatment compared to pre-exposure vaccination.

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Wrap Up

In one sentence, explain why passive immunity is described as "borrowed" protection.