A Chart That Shows the Diphtheria Vaccine Works

Want to see yet another chart that shows vaccines work, this one for the diphtheria vaccine?

A Chart That Shows the Diphtheria Vaccine Works

Of course you do!

Whether it is just because you like charts, you would like the reassurance of knowing vaccines work, or you need some ammunition to fight back when anti-vaccine influencers throw up their mortality charts trying to say that vaccines didn’t save us.

Yeah, that’s a thing – they try to sell the idea that improved sanitation, hygiene, and nutrition fixed everything.

Of course, while it helped in the very early part of the 20th century, it didn’t fix everything.

History of Diphtheria Vaccines

Let’s look at diphtheria, which was also known as ‘the Strangling Angel.’ In addition to MMWR reports, extra data on diphtheria deaths came from from Historical Statistics of the United States Colonial Times to 1970.

A chart that shows the diphtheria vaccine works. — The drop in diphtheria cases and deaths after the introduction of the diphtheria vaccines is not as gradual as this chart makes it seem…

Amazingly, the very first diphtheria vaccine was developed in the 1890s. It didn’t work very well though and was soon replaced with an antitoxin serum. After horses were injected with weakened diphtheria toxin, their serum, rich with diphtheria toxin antibodies (antitoxin) would be used to treat children with diphtheria.

“The Souls of Black Folks, W. E. B. Du Bois’ compelling narrative from 1903, includes a description of the death of his only son, Burghardt. His death was caused by diphtheria and occurred in Atlanta, GA in the year 1899. Mortality from diphtheria had fallen precipitously in the mid-1890s, but neither city of Atlanta nor Philadelphia, from which the family had recently moved, had made the diphtheria antitoxin available for general use.”
The Death of Burghardt Du Bois, 1899; Implications for Today

Tragically, it would take some time before diphtheria antitoxin was more widely available though.

President Cleveland's daughter died with diphtheria. Baby Ruth Cleveland had gotten diphtheria antitoxin. — President Cleveland’s daughter died with diphtheria. Baby Ruth Cleveland had gotten diphtheria antitoxin.

Unfortunately, antitoxin didn’t always work when it was used and it had side effects – including severe allergic reactions.

Next, we got the toxoid vaccine, a vaccine made against the diphtheria toxin and not against the diphtheria bacteria itself! It was first created in 1913 and was combined in the DTP vaccine in 1948.

So why did it take so long for diphtheria to get under control if a vaccine was available as early as 1913?

That’s a great question!

In 1935, a lot of kids had still not been vaccinated against diphtheria.

And for the answer, (if you are a skeptic, hopefully this is the first thing you though of) we have to look at how many people were actually getting vaccinated and protected during those years.

“Statutes or regulations pertaining to diphtheria immunization existed in nine States by the end of 1941.”
‘Extent of Immunization and Case Histories for Diphtheria, Smallpox, Scarlet Fever, and Typhoid Fever in 200,000 Surveyed Families in 28 Large Cities

It wasn’t like there was a drug store on every corner!

“Of children under 6 years of age in the sample, 40 percent had never been vaccinated against smallpox and 24 percent had not received a single DPT immunization.”
MMWR Weekly Report, Vol. 6, no. 31, For release August 9, 1957

It took time to make vaccines more easily available and to get everyone vaccinated and protected.

But with widespread use of the DPT vaccine in the 1950s, cases of diphtheria dropped very quickly!

You can see the same trend in other countries too.

It is very clear that the diphtheria vaccine works!

Another clue that the diphtheria vaccine works is that any time immunization rates drop, we see more diphtheria, something that you don’t want to see for such a devastating disease.

More on Charts That Show Vaccines Work

Last Updated on August 4, 2024

A Chart That Shows the Diphtheria Vaccine Works