Was the old pertussis vaccine safe?
The old pertussis vaccine had far more risks than the hepatitis B vaccine. The old pertussis vaccine was called the .wholecell . vaccine and had a high rate of severe side effects. Persistent, inconsolable crying occurred in one of every 100 doses, fever greater than 105°F occurred in one of every 330 doses, and seizures with fever occurred in one of every 1,750 doses. Due to negative publicity about this vaccine, the use of pertussis vaccine decreased in many areas of the world.
For example, Japan simply stopped using the pertussis vaccine in 1975. In the three years before the vaccine was discontinued, there were 400 cases of pertussis and ten deaths from pertussis. In the three years after the pertussis vaccine was discontinued, there were 13,000 cases of pertussis and 113 deaths! It should be noted that although the side effects of the pertussis vaccine were high, children didn.t die from pertussis vaccine. What they did die from was pertussis infection. The
Japanese Ministry of Health, realizing how costly their error had been, soon reinstituted the use of pertussis vaccine.
What happened to the children of Japan proved that the benefits of the pertussis vaccine clearly outweighed the risks. Today's new acellular. pertussis vaccine has a much lower risk of severe side effects than the old .whole-cell. vaccine.therefore, it is even safer.
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