Which of the following best describes acellular vaccines and subunit vaccines?

• A. They use live, attenuated viruses to stimulate immunity.
• B. They are composed entirely of nucleic acids from the infectious agent.
• C. They contain only specific components of a pathogen, not whole organisms.
• D. They rely on inactivated toxins to induce an immune response.

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the definition of acellular vaccines: these vaccines do not contain whole cells or organisms but rather specific parts or components of the pathogen, such as proteins or polysaccharides.
2. Recognize that subunit vaccines are a type of acellular vaccine that include only selected antigenic parts of the pathogen, which are sufficient to stimulate an immune response without introducing the entire organism.
3. Compare the options given: live, attenuated vaccines contain weakened whole organisms; nucleic acid vaccines contain genetic material; toxoid vaccines use inactivated toxins; whereas acellular and subunit vaccines contain only specific components.
4. Identify that the correct description for acellular and subunit vaccines is that they contain only specific components of a pathogen, not whole organisms, which helps reduce side effects and improve safety.
5. Summarize that acellular and subunit vaccines focus on targeted immune stimulation by using purified parts of the pathogen rather than live or whole inactivated organisms.