Vaccine
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Numerous individuals on the Island have made use of the vaccine, however, it is unknown what the effects of the vaccine actually are, or what, if any, disease the vaccine is used to address.
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Desmond and the Swan
Desmond originally received the vaccine from Kelvin, who brought Desmond to the Swan after he washed ashore on the Island. Kelvin told Desmond that the vaccine was necessary to combat the sickness, which Desmond may have been exposed to when he was outside unprotected (Kelvin wore a biohazard suit when outside the Swan). However, Kelvin only used the biohazard suit to prevent Desmond from leaving the station, as it was later revealed that Kelvin removed the suit once he left the Swan. This did not prevent Desmond from continuing to take the vaccine while he remained in the Swan.
The vial containing the vaccine was labelled "CR 4-81516-23 42." While living in the Swan, Desmond injected this substance into his arm every 9 days for three years. ("Live Together, Die Alone")
He later told Claire that he believes the vaccine does nothing, as Claire prepared to give Aaron an injection. ("Live Together, Die Alone")
Ethan and Claire
During Claire's abduction, Ethan Rom prenatally injected Claire's baby, Aaron with the substance several times. Ethan described the substance as a vaccine that her baby needed to prevent him from getting sick. Although there are numerous vials in the cabinets, Ethan tells Claire there wasn't enough for both her and the baby.
Like the vial in the Swan the vial in the Staff station was also labelled "CR 4-81516-23 42." Additionally, the vaccine had the inscription "RX-1 GND" and the Staff caduceus logo on it.
Aaron later contracted a fever and a rash, which Claire and Danielle believed was due to the sickness. Claire returned to the Staff station to look for more vaccine but found none. ("Maternity Leave")
A kit (with a case of vials and a jet injector), was found by Charlie in the supply drop. Charlie said that he tried it on himself first, then gave the kit to Claire to put her fears about Aaron's sickness to rest. According to Charlie, the kit recommends an injection every nine days. ("Three Minutes")
Juliet
After Juliet travelled to the beach camp, Claire became extremely sick and Juliet revealed that on the Island "the mother's body turns on the pregnancy, treats it as a foreign invader," which causes the death of both mother and baby. Juliet told Jack and Kate that Ethan was injecting Claire with a medication that she designed to keep pregnant women on the Island alive during the late stages of their pregnancy. Claire was the first one to survive. Juliet theorized that Claire was going into remission and needed more of the serum. Juliet retrieved a stash of hidden medical supplies in the jungle and used them on Claire, causing her to get better. However, it was later revealed by Ben that an implant placed in Claire by the Others caused her sickness, and that this was used to give Juliet an opportunity to gain the survivors' trust. ("One of Us")
DHARMA
DHARMA workers arriving to the Island were seen being injected with possibly a similar vaccine in Ben's flashback. While the actual vial used was not seen close-up, the color of the substance and injector used was similar to that used in the Swan. ("The Man Behind the Curtain")
The Lost Experience
In the Sri Lanka Video, part of which is a videotape of a private meeting taken by Rachel Blake, Thomas Mittelwerk explains to volunteers that two villages in Sri Lanka have been intentionally infected with a Hanso-engineered virus, and that the Hanso Foundation's cover story is to provide a treatment vaccine. He explains that the villagers think they are infected by a virus carried by local macaques and they believe the Hanso workers are bringing them the cure. In fact, Mittelwerk reveals that their goals are a mortality rate of exactly 30%, as well as testing of the deceased to confirm the genetic targets of their virus. Mittelwerk implies that this is tied to saving the world and that these experiments are being done to "perfect this virus."
Trivia
- The substance's identification number is a slightly reformatted version of the Numbers.
- A vaccine is a part of a microbe (such as a protein) or a killed or weakened version of the microbe which is used to establish immunity to a disease. A vaccine can be both preventative (administered before a disease is contracted to prevent illness) and therapeutic (administered after a disease is contracted to combat the illness). The immune system recognizes the vaccine as foreign agents, builds up defenses to destroy them, and is thus prepared for when the disease invades again.
- There are no known post-exposure medications that are given on a weekly basis for years at a time in the real world, although some vaccines (such as the one for Hepatitis B) requires 2 to 3 shots for full effectiveness.
- Medications in a drug testing phase are often labelled Rx-(testing #). Rx is short for the Latin term recipe, used for medical prescriptions.
- Part of the vial's label reads: "For Injection, USP". The USP (United States Pharmacopeia) is an independent, science-based, standards-setting public health organization responsible for all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, dietary supplements, and other healthcare products manufactured and sold in the United States.
- Eko's church distributed vaccines (for polio). His refusal to give a share of the shipment to Nigerian druglords led to his leaving the church. ("The Cost of Living")
- Juliet injected Rachel with a substance that was similar in color (but with a different label) for fertility purposes. ("Not in Portland")
- One of the Others who infiltrated the beach camp to kidnap the pregnant women, was carrying a jet injection gun with an unknown substance as she looked inside the tent where she believed the women were sleeping. ("Through the Looking Glass")
Unanswered questions
| Unanswered questions |
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- For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: Vaccine/Theories
- What does the vaccine do?
- Are the three vaccines seen (Desmond's, Ethan's and DHARMA's) the same?
- Is the serum that Juliet developed to help pregnant women stay alive the same as the vaccine?
- What relation is there between the vaccine, the sickness and the quarantine?
See also
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| Symbols | Bagua/Yin-Yang (DHARMA) • Dharmacakra • Eko's cross • Hieroglyphs • Jack's tattoo • Juliet's mark • Tree mark• Ben's secret door | |||
| Codes | 7418880 • A4993-E3 • CR 4-8-15-16-23 42 • DI 9FFTR731 • RX-1 GND • DI 90M1654-21644 • GVS-199288472982 | |||
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alcohol • Cigarettes • Heroin • Juliet's test drug • Locke's drug • Oxycodone • Vaccine | ||||||
