Ever since the outbreak of whooping cough among vaccinated children in the early 1990's in Laguna Niguel, it's been obvious that the shot doesn't work.

Now new studies show even greater cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, among the vaccinated groups, and "experts" claim it may be due to a new strain. But these experts receive funding from the manufacturers of the shots:

Public officials around the world rely heavily on two groups of pertussis experts when setting vaccine policy relating to the disease. Both groups, and many of their members, receive money from the two leading manufacturers of pertussis vaccine. [http://www.watchdoginstitute.org/2010/12/13/whooping-cough-epidemic-california/]

Bottom line: stay healthy; avoid all vaccines.

Public Health offering free Pertussis (whooping cough) vaccines.

 It begins with cold-like symptoms and develops into a bad cough. Coughing spells can be severe, and sometimes the individual might suffer from gagging or vomiting as a result. Some people also may have a high-pitched “whoop” after they cough, which is how the disease got its common name.

Carol E. Nicholson, MD, MS, FAAP, is the Project Scientist for the Collaborative Pediatric Critical Care Research Network (CPCCRN) and Program Director for Pediatric Care and Rehabilitation Research (PCCR).

Margaret Parker, MD, FCCM, speaks with John T. Berger, MD, FCCM, Medical Director for Cardiac Critical Care at Childrens National Medical Center in Washington, DC, USA.

BACKGROUND The live attenuated BPZE1 vaccine candidate induces protection against B. pertussis and prevents nasal colonization in animal models. Here we report on the responses in humans receiving a single intranasal administration of BPZE1.METHODS We performed multiple assays to dissect the immune responses induced in humans (n = 12) receiving BPZE1, with particular emphasis on the magnitude and characteristics of the antibody responses. Such responses were benchmarked to adolescents (n = 12) receiving the complete vaccination program of the currently used acellular pertussis vaccine (aPV). Using immunoproteomics analysis, potentially novel immunogenic B. pertussis antigens were identified.RESULTS All BPZE1 vaccinees showed robust B. pertussis–specific antibody responses with regard to significant increase in 1 or more of the following parameters: IgG, IgA, and memory B cells to B. pertussis antigens. BPZE1–specific T cells showed a Th1 phenotype, and the IgG exclusively consisted of IgG1 and IgG3. In contrast, all aPV vaccines showed a Th2-biased response. Immunoproteomics profiling revealed that BPZE1 elicited broader and different antibody specificities to B. pertussis antigens as compared with the aPV that primarily induced antibodies to the vaccine antigens. Moreover, BPZE1 was superior at inducing opsonizing antibodies that stimulated ROS production in neutrophils and enhanced bactericidal function, which was in line with the finding that antibodies against adenylate cyclase toxin were only elicited by BPZE1.CONCLUSION The breadth of the antibodies, the Th1-type cellular response, and killing mechanisms elicited by BPZE1 may hold prospects of improving vaccine efficacy and protection against B. pertussis transmission.TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02453048, NCT00870350.FUNDING ILiAD Biotechnologies, Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet), Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation.

Pertussis is a poorly controlled vaccine-preventable disease. Verifying outbreaks is challenging owing to nonspecific clinical presentations and imperfect diagnostic tests. Exclusive reliance on highly sensitive polymerase chain reaction has been associated with pseudo-outbreaks.

Contamination of specimens with vaccine derived Bordetella pertussis DNA from pediatric clinic surfaces likely resulted in misdiagnoses. Standard practices, liquid transport medium, and lack of polymerase chain reaction cutoffs for discerning weakly positive (contaminant) DNA are contributory, but modifiable factors. (Read the full article)

Despite high coverage with acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP), rates of pertussis have increased substantially in 7- to 10-year-olds in recent years. Duration of protection with 5 doses of DTaP may wane earlier than expected and is currently not well described.

This evaluation reports increasing risk of pertussis in the 6 years after receipt of the fifth DTaP dose, suggesting that waning of vaccine-induced immunity is occurring before the recommended adolescent booster dose at 11 to 12 years of age. (Read the full article)

The United States switched from whole-cell to acellular pertussis vaccines during the 1990s. Whether pertussis risk during a California outbreak differed between teenagers who previously received whole-cell or acellular pertussis vaccines early in life has not been reported.

We evaluated pertussis risk in 10 to 17 year olds at Kaiser Permanente Northern California during a recent pertussis outbreak. Those given whole-cell pertussis vaccines in childhood were more protected than those given acellular pertussis vaccines. (Read the full article)

Infants aged <2 months are at highest risk for pertussis morbidity and mortality but are too young to receive pertussis vaccines. To protect young infants, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends mothers receive 1 dose of Tdap during pregnancy.

This article evaluates the effect of Tdap during pregnancy compared with postpartum Tdap and cocooning in preventing infant pertussis cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, as well as their relative cost-effectiveness. (Read the full article)

Exemption rates for immunization requirements have until recently been stable in states permitting religious exemptions. States with easy exemption processes have seen higher rates of vaccine-preventable diseases.

In New York, the rate of religious exemptions has increased. Counties with higher rates of exemption have a greater incidence of pertussis. (Read the full article)

Previous studies have shown that nonmedical exemptions (NMEs) to immunization cluster geographically and contribute to outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases such as pertussis. The 2010 pertussis resurgence in California has been widely attributed to waning immunity from acellular pertussis vaccines.

This study provides evidence of spatial and temporal clustering of NMEs and clustering of pertussis cases and suggests that geographic areas with high NME rates were also associated with high rates of pertussis in California in 2010. (Read the full article)

Pertussis rates are on the rise in the United States. Infants often require hospitalization for pertussis. Vaccination can change hospitalization patterns for vaccine-preventable diseases. It is unknown if vaccinating adolescents for pertussis (recommended in 2006) might change infant hospitalization utilization.

Universal vaccination policy among adolescents against pertussis appears to have been effective in 3 of the 4 years we examined postvaccination. Further vaccination efforts among adolescents and adults are needed to prevent infantile hospitalization on a more consistent basis. (Read the full article)

The incidence of pertussis has significantly increased, and infection can result in severe disease among young children. This highly contagious disease may frequently be transmitted in pediatric health care settings, necessitating effective infection control practices to reduce exposure risk.

Despite institutional guidelines, pediatric health care workers (HCWs) are frequently exposed to pertussis because of delayed or incomplete adherence to infection control practices. Inconsistent reporting may also result in missed HCW exposures, increasing the risk of subsequent transmission to patients. (Read the full article)

Waning effectiveness of 5 doses of acellular pertussis vaccines is well documented after 6 years of age, but data are lacking for fewer doses in younger children.

In 2- to 3-month-old infants, 1 dose of the diphtheria–tetanus–acellular pertussis vaccine gave significant protection against hospitalized pertussis. The effectiveness of 3 doses decreased from 84% between 6 and 11 months to 59% after 3 years. (Read the full article)

It is thought that vaccination coverage increases during and immediately after an infectious disease epidemic; however, little evidence exists to support this phenomenon.

The 2011 to 2012 pertussis epidemic did not significantly change the proportion of infants in Washington State who were up to date for pertussis-containing vaccines. This finding may challenge conventional wisdom that vaccine acceptance uniformly increases when risk of disease is high. (Read the full article)

Parental reduced antigen diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccination is difficult to implement, and empirical data on its impact is limited to a single hospital-based study in Texas, which found no reduction in infant pertussis hospitalization.

In New South Wales, Australia, a case-control study found both parents receiving Tdap ≥4 weeks before disease onset was associated with a significant reduction in risk of early infant pertussis and suggestive of persistent protection in subsequent pregnancies. (Read the full article)

Childhood immunization might contribute to an increase in asthma prevalence. Previous studies have been contradictory, and many lack sufficiently large control groups of nonimmunized children.

Pertussis immunization in infancy does not increase the risk of asthma medication in adolescents. Our study presents convincing evidence that pertussis immunization in early childhood can be considered safe with respect to long-term development of asthma. (Read the full article)

Although waning immunity with the childhood pertussis vaccination series has been reported, there are limited data on duration of protection of the adolescent pertussis vaccine (Tdap), especially among those who have received only acellular vaccines.

This study reports that protection from Tdap wanes substantially 2 to 4 years after vaccination among adolescents who received all acellular vaccines during childhood. This waning protection is likely contributing to the increase in adolescent pertussis. (Read the full article)

Few studies have established the protective efficacy of 1 to 3 primary doses of diphtheria-tetanus-whole-cell pertussis (DTwP)/diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccines against pertussis, hospitalization, or pertussis complications in infants. However, vaccine effectiveness against infant pertussis death has not been previously reported.

This is the first study to report the protective role of ≥1 DTwP/DTaP doses among vaccine-eligible infants aged ≥6 weeks against death, hospitalization, and complications from pertussis. It describes risk markers for death among vaccine-ineligible infants aged <6 weeks. (Read the full article)

The source of infant pertussis infection is typically identified ~50% of the time. Historically, mothers have been identified as the most common source of pertussis transmission to infants.

This analysis of 8 years of enhanced pertussis surveillance data has uncovered a shift in the most common source of infant pertussis infection in the United States from mothers to siblings. (Read the full article)

Cham : Springer, 2020.

[S.l.] : SPRINGER NATURE, 2020.

Interview with Michael E. Pichichero, MD, author of Combined Tetanus, Diphtheria, and 5-Component Pertussis Vaccine for Use in Adolescents and Adults, published in the June 22/29 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. Summary Points: 1. Need: The combined tetanus-diphtheria 5-component pertussis vaccine is needed; There has been a 300% increase of pertussis among US adolescents in the last three years. 2. Safety: The combined tetanus-diphtheria 5-component pertussis vaccine is safe, as the reactions are the same as the tetanus vaccine. 3. Universal: On June 30, 2005, the American Academy of Pediatrics (ASAP), America Academy of Family Physicians (AFAR), and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACID) all recommended the universal use of the combined tetanus-diphtheria 5-component pertussis vaccine or its competitor vaccine for adolescents.

Interview with Lara K. Misegades, PhD, MS, author of Association of Childhood Pertussis With Receipt of 5 Doses of Pertussis Vaccine by Time Since Last Vaccine Dose, California, 2010