So we know that we need a better pertussis vaccine.
DTaP and Tdap just aren’t doing the job that they should be doing.
So when will we get one?
Making a Better Pertussis Vaccine
Since anti-vaccine folks are always talking about the 300 new vaccines in the pipeline, you would think that we would have had several new pertussis vaccines by now…
Unfortunately, we don’t.
What we do have is some good candidates, including:
- new acellular pertussis vaccines, either with more antigens or an adjuvant
- a new live attenuated nasal vaccine, BPZE1
- new whole-cell vaccines with reduced endotoxin contents (so should have fewer side effects that then original whole-cell pertussis vaccine – DTP)
Before you get too excited, keep in mind that none of these vaccines will be available in your pediatrician’s office any time soon. Developing a new vaccine takes a lot of time.
BPZE1 has started phase 2a trials though.
What do we do until we get new pertussis vaccines?
“We should be more vigilant than we have been in the past to recognize and treat pertussis in all age groups so that transmission to young infants is reduced. Most important (although not discussed in this review) is to ensure that all pregnant women receive the Tdap vaccine between 27 and 36 weeks’ gestation with each pregnancy. Also, we should consider routinely administering Tdap vaccine every 3 years to all adolescents and adults who were primed with a DTaP vaccine.”
James D. Cherry on The 112-Year Odyssey of Pertussis and Pertussis Vaccines—Mistakes Made and Implications for the Future
We should keep using the pertussis vaccines we have!
Vaccines work, even when they aren’t as effective as we would like.
More on Making a Better Pertussis Vaccine
- VAXOPEDIA – Does Getting the DTaP Vaccine Make You More Susceptible to Pertussis?
- VAXOPEDIA – What to Do If Your Child Is Exposed to Pertussis
- VAXOPEDIA – Can Vaccinated Children Be Asymptomatic Carriers of Pertussis
- VAXOPEDIA – Do More Vaccinated or Unvaccinated Kids Get Pertussis?
- VAXOPEDIA – Do Pertussis Vaccines Work Against Pertactin-Negative Pertussis
- VAXOPEDIA – Why Are the DPT and OPV Vaccines Still Used in Some Countries
- VAXOPEDIA – A Shot at the Dark – DPT vs DTaP
- Study – The 112-Year Odyssey of Pertussis and Pertussis Vaccines-Mistakes Made and Implications for the Future
- Study – Genomic Survey of Bordetella pertussis Diversity, United States, 2000–2013
- Why do pertussis vaccines fail?
- Study – Antibody Response Patterns to Bordetella pertussis Antigens in Vaccinated (Primed) and Unvaccinated (Unprimed) Young Children with Pertussis
- Study – An improved whole cell pertussis vaccine with reduced content of endotoxin.
- The History of Pertussis (Whooping Cough); 1906–2015: Facts, Myths, and Misconceptions
- LA Countywide Outbreak Of Whooping Cough Hits Exclusive Harvard-Westlake Hard
- First Confirmed Whooping Cough Death in a California Infant Since 2016
- Clinical Trial – Safety and Immunogenicity of Intranasal BPZE1 Vaccination in Healthy Adults
- Clinical Trial – Study of BPZE1 (High Dose) Nasal Live Attenuated B. Pertussis Vaccine
- Clinical Trial – First Adult Safety Trial on Nasal Live Attenuated B. Pertussis Vaccine
Last Updated on April 6, 2024