Several social media and blog posts question if the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTaP) vaccine is necessary. The post focuses on pertussis, also called whooping cough, a severe respiratory infection that can cause severe illness and death in infants. One post claims the decline in pertussis deaths is unrelated to the vaccine, while the other falsely claims that the DTaP vaccine contains the mercury-based additive thimerosal.
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Myths that vaccines are unsafe because of thimerosal have circulated for decades. Debunking messaging may explain that, although some older vaccines contained small, nontoxic amounts of thimerosal, no childhood vaccine administered since 2001 has contained the substance. Messaging may also emphasize that pertussis is a serious and potentially deadly disease that can be easily prevented through vaccination. Up to 50 percent of babies with pertussis end up in the hospital. Of those, 1 in 5 develop pneumonia, and 1 in 100 die. However, pertussis cases decreased by 75 percent after the vaccine was introduced. Fact Checking Source(s): CDC, CHOP
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