Whooping Cough Vaccine Not Very Effective
Whooping cough vaccine not very effective, a new study shows. The study, published in the journal Pediatrics found that the TDAP vaccine, though effective initially, starts waning after 2 to 4 years.
There have been three whooping cough epidemics in the US in the past five years, in 2010 and 2014, when nearly 11,000 people were affected, and the more recent one in Washington state. Children receive the TDAP vaccine for protection against whooping cough (pertussis), tetanus, and diphtheria. Adolescents also receive a booster shot of the TDAP vaccine. Researchers found that the vaccine is 73% effective a year after it is given but drops to 34% in two to four years. Hence, the greater incidence of whooping cough among adolescents.
Researchers attribute this to replacing the whole-cell vaccine with the acellular pertussis vaccine in 1997 in order to reduce the side-effects. Unfortunately, though the acellular vaccine is safer, it is not as effective. According to experts additional booster shots may not help. What is needed is a new vaccine for pertussis.
In recent outbreaks of whooping cough, the most severe cases have been among babies who are too young to be vaccinated. Babies need to be two months old to receive the vaccination. To protect babies, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now recommends vaccinating women in the last trimester of pregnancy.
Researchers say that parents refusing to vaccinate their children because of fears of autism is another reason for the resurgence of preventable diseases, such as measles and whooping cough.
Category: News
