Over the years there have been several diseases that have been eliminated from the face of the earth such as small pox. However, several viruses continue to live, and they cause contagious diseases which can even lead to death of the victim. Some of these diseases are pertussis or whooping cough, diphtheria and tetanus or lockjaw.

Vaccines have been made available for these diseases which need to be administered from time to time as their effect wears off. Young children below the age of 7 years need to be administered the DTap Vaccine while adolescents and adults need to be given the DTap vaccine. Here are some of the important facts about the DTap and TDap Vaccine.

• DTap vaccine administered to a child will keep him/her protected through childhood against pertussis, diphtheria and tetanus. DTap is an improved version of the DTP vaccine which is no longer administered in the United States.

• The first DTP was released in the 1940s when there were thousands of cases reported where children were dying of whooping cough. By 1976, the number of cases reported came down to 1000. However, over the years, pertussis started affecting a lot of people, as evident from the 27000 cases had been reported in 2010.

• Children need to be given 5 doses of the DTap vaccine in order to keep them protected against the disease. The shots should be given at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 15-18 months and 4-6 years. At the next period of immunization, the individual may be given the Tdap vaccine.

• Children with mild health issues such as cough and cold may be given the vaccine. However, for more severe conditions, it is better to wait till the child recovers for administering the shot.

• The mild side effects that a child may experience include fever, tiredness or loss of appetite, tenderness and soreness at the site of injection, fussiness and vomiting. At least one child out of four faces the first three side effects mentioned.

• If a child experiences any of the following symptoms, a doctor should be contacted immediately- collapsed or had a seizure after a shot of Dtap, had a fever over 105F or cried non-stop for 3 hours or more.

• TDap is an inactive vaccine. The part of the vaccine responsible for fighting pertussis is purified from the bacterium B. Pertussis, which is then made inactive. Therefore, a person who has been administered the vaccine cannot develop the disease from it.

• In 2010, 68.7% of teens between 13 and 17 years of age were given the vaccine. However, only 8.2% of adults were immunized with it.

• A single shot of the Tdap can replace a single shot of the TD vaccine which is given every 10 years to fight diphtheria and tetanus.

• It has been recommended that pregnant women should get the Tdap vaccine post 20 weeks of gestation. Mothers of new born babies should be given the shot before they leave the hospital unless they had been previously vaccinated.

Tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough or pertussis still continue to affect a good chunk of the population. Therefore, it is important to eliminate the problem by increasing the number of individuals vaccinated.