Never heard of Diphtheria? Up until the 1920s, it was one of the most notorious and feared childhood diseases in the U.S., claiming more than 10, 000 every year. After vaccinations began in the ’30s, the deaths began to diminish, the disease disintegrating into the past one vial at a time. This combo also treats tetanus (a.k.a. Lockjaw), and Pertussis, better known as whooping cough, which killed between 5,000 and 10,000 per year before the vaccine. Today, the annual average of whooping cough deaths is in the double digits. However, 2004 saw a spike in cases that sent numbers soaring to heights they’d not reached since the 1950s. Most affected are infants younger than 6 months and older children whose immunity has decreased. For this reason, the booster shot known as TDaP was introduced for children at the 11-12 year mark. Meanwhile, the bacterial infection, tetanus, causes severe muscle spasms and paralysis and kills between 10 and 20 percent of its reported cases. Since its vaccine became common in the 1940s, tetanus cases in the U.S. dropped to just 50 from 500. Tripedia, Infan¬rix and DAPTACEL are the vaccines licensed to treat children between the ages of 6 weeks and 7 years. The DTaP is recommended for doses at 2, 4, 6, and 15-18 months, then again at the 4-6 year mark with the TDaP booster rounding out treatments at 11-12 years. Dr. Brown says the fourth installment is the vaccine that has the lowest coverage rates in the U.S.
For more on the statuts of childhood vaccinations and which immunizations are recommended, see these articles below:
What Shots Does My Child Need?
Hepatitis B
HIB (Haemophilus Influenzae Type B)
PCV (Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine)
Rotavirus
IPV (Inactivated Polio Vaccine)
Hepatitis A
MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella)
Varicella (Chicken Pox)
Flu
