Glossary
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| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Unsupervised learning | Machine learning in which a model finds patterns or groupings in data without labeled answers. Artificial Intelligence |
| Urban Heat Island | The tendency of cities to be warmer than surrounding rural areas. Climate records correct for it, so it does not explain global warming. Climate Change |
| Vaccination | The physical act of administering any vaccine. Vaccines |
| Vaccination coverage | The percentage of people in a population who have received a recommended vaccine. Coverage below the herd immunity threshold allows outbreaks to occur. Vaccines |
| Vaccine | A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious or malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verified. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe, its toxins, or one of its surface proteins. The agent stimulates the immune system to recognize the agent as a threat, destroy it, and destroy any of the microorganisms associated with that agent that it may encounter in the future. Vaccines |
| Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System | A U.S. early-warning system, run by the CDC and FDA, where anyone can report a health problem after vaccination. Reports are unverified and do not prove a vaccine caused the problem. Commonly known as VAERS. Vaccines |
| Vaccine Effectiveness | How well a vaccine prevents disease in real-world use, as opposed to efficacy, which is measured in controlled clinical trials. Vaccines |
| Vaccine Hesitancy | Delay in accepting or refusal of vaccines despite their availability, driven by factors such as complacency, low confidence and inconvenience. Listed by the WHO as a major global health threat. Vaccines |
| Vaccine Information Statement | An information sheet produced by the CDC that U.S. providers must give before administering certain vaccines, explaining their benefits and risks. Commonly known as a VIS. Vaccines |
| Vaccine Injury Compensation Program | A U.S. no-fault federal program, created in 1986, that compensates people who may have been injured by certain vaccines, funded by an excise tax on each dose. Vaccines |