While the first pertussis vaccine actually used inactivated Bordetella pertussis cells, this type of whole cell vaccine was thought to cause too many side effects.
The whole cell pertussis vaccine (DTP) began to be replaced with the acellular pertussis vaccine in 1996. These DTaP vaccines use purified, inactivated components of Bordetella pertussis cells.
Acellular Pertussis Vaccines
The current acellular pertussis vaccines include DTaP and Tdap.
The Tdap formulations were added for teens and adults in 2005. It actually contains less of the diphtheria component than the pediatric formulation.
Unfortunately, these new vaccines don’t work as well as the ones they were made to replace, leading to waning immunity and contributing to our pertussis outbreaks.
And even more tragically, we may not have needed to replace them in the first place!
It turns out that many of the serious vaccine injuries that were supposedly caused by the DTP vaccine actually weren’t. From multiple lawsuits in England that found the DTP vaccine did not cause seizures or brain damage to the discovery of Dravet syndrome, the whole cell pertussis vaccine likely could be safely reintroduced.
More on Acellular Pertussis Vaccines
- Making a Better Pertussis Vaccine
- A Shot at the Dark – DPT vs DTaP
- What Causes Non-Stop Crying After DTaP Vaccines?
- DTaP Vaccine Reactions – Is This Normal?
- What Are Hypotonic-Hyporesponsive Episodes?
- Do More Vaccinated or Unvaccinated Kids Get Pertussis?
- Can Vaccinated Children Be Asymptomatic Carriers of Pertussis?
- Why Are the DPT and OPV Vaccines Still Used in Some Countries?
- Pertussis ACIP Recommendations
- Ask the Experts about Pertussis Vaccines
- Comparing effectiveness of two types of pertussis vaccines
- The whole cell pertussis vaccine, media malpractice, and the long-term effects of avoiding difficult conversations
- Vaccine Injury Stories – Are They True?
- Study Suggests Bringing Back Whole-Cell Pertussis Vaccine
- Less Than Perfect Vaccine Better Than None At All