The Law of Similars or the Law of
Opposites: The Art and Science of Creating an H1N1 Vaccine
The creation of vaccines is both an art and a science that humankind has delved into and has not yet fully mastered. At best, it is imperfect and leaves unanswered questions in the medical world. At the same time, there are vaccines that appear to work.
It is only time that will tell whether the current H1N1 vaccine will be effective, in terms of protection against the H1N1 virus and prevention with regard to the further spread of the disease.
Creating vaccines also raises questions of concern in the medical world. For instance, is the law of similars or the law of opposites the one that is used to create the H1N1 vaccine? Of course, not everyone is familiar with the medical principles behind the law of similars or the law of opposites.
This article will look at the law of similars, as well as the law of opposites, in terms of the art and science of creating vaccines. More specifically, it will attempt to determine which law applies to creating the vaccine, now administered for the H1N1 virus.
What is the origin of the law of similars?
"Before 1796, when British physician, Edward Jenner tested the possibility of using the cowpox vaccine as an immunization (sic) for smallpox in humans for the first time, at least six people had done the same, several years earlier." (1)
Cowpox contracted by dairymaids was a
disease entity, similar to smallpox.
The creation of vaccine, based upon the law or similars, rather than the law of opposites, made sense to those who understood that vaccine made from cowpox could trigger an immune response in human beings. It also proved to protect people from smallpox.
Another question one might ask is whether the virus used for immunization against the H1N1 virus is created using the actual virus itself, a similar virus or something that is totally different or even opposite in nature.
"The WHO recommended before the H1N1/09 outbreak that vaccines from the Northern Hemisphere's 2009-2010 flu season contain an A(H1N1)-like virus, and stocks have been made." (2)
This statement suggests that the law of
similars, not the law of opposites, is used in the creation of this new vaccine.
"As of 28 September, 2009, GlaxoSmithKline produced a vaccine made by growing the virus in hen's eggs, then breaking and deactivating the virus, and Baxter International produced a vaccine made in cell culture, suitable for those who have an egg allergy." (3)
A virus, not originally the actual virus, but rather, a similar virus, incubated in hen's eggs, would be vaccine based upon the law of similars. When it is the actual H1N1 virus used in the vaccine creation process, it is not vaccine based upon the law of similars. This would be the vaccine created using live virus killed or deactivated.
The media, for the GlaxoSmithKline's H1N1 vaccine, is hen's eggs and the other one used is a cell culture. This does not change the law of similars or the law of opposites, in either case.
What is a vaccine?
"A vaccine is a biological
preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease. A vaccine typically
contains a small amount of an agent that resembles a microorganism." (4)
If it is the actual microorganism, then
the vaccine is not vaccine based on the law of similars. If it resembles the
microorganism, then it is based on the law of similars.
How does a vaccine work?
"The agent stimulates the body's
immune system to recognize the agent as foreign, destroy it and remember it so
that the immune system can more easily recognize and destroy any of these
microorganisms that it later encounters." (5)
The logic behind the art and science of
creating a vaccine seems simple enough.
One must suggest that according the above
information, the current H1N1 vaccine appears to be a vaccine based upon the
law of similars, rather than one based upon the law of opposites.
For those who are seeking further information about the H1N1 virus vaccine, there is a product information leaflet on AS03-Adjuvanted H1N1 Pandemic Influenza Vaccine version 1, approved October 21, 2009 on the following website:
http://www.gsk.ca/english/docs-pdf/Arepanrix_PIL_CAPA01v01.pdf
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_flu_pandemic_vaccine
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
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