NAPLEX (North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination) Practice Exam

Live vaccines contain weakened or attenuated forms of a virus or bacteria to stimulate an immune response without causing disease. Hepatitis B is not a live vaccine as it contains only a part of the virus, the surface antigen. This is not enough to cause an infection but enough to stimulate an immune response. In contrast, MMR, Cholera, and Yellow fever vaccines are all live vaccines. MMR contains weakened forms of live measles, mumps, and rubella viruses. Cholera vaccine contains live attenuated cholera bacteria, and yellow fever vaccine contains a live attenuated yellow fever virus.