Vaccine Choice Canada Diphtheria - Disease & Vaccine Information

Diphtheria

Symptoms of diphtheria include a sore throat, croupy cough, low-grade fever, runny nose, breathing problems, and a fiber-like coating on the tonsils, pharynx, or inside of the nose. Diphtheria is extremely rare in developed countries and no longer poses a significant threat to public health in Canada.

The Vaccine

The diphtheria vaccine does not prevent infection or transmission and therefore does not provide a benefit to others, nor does it provide protection from future infection.
The vaccine is designed solely to reduce the severity of symptoms. This effect wanes over time.
The diphtheria vaccine is only available as a combination vaccine that contains tetanus and pertussis (DTaP). It is also sometimes given with polio (IPV), haemophilus influenzae B (Hib), and hepatitis B (HB).
Health Canada currently recommends administration of a diphtheria containing vaccine six times: 2, 4, and 6 months; 15 – 18 months; four – six years, and at 11-12 years.
Health Canada also recommends that pregnant women receive a dose of Tdap vaccine during pregnancy. This recommendation is not supported by the vaccine manufacturers who state that the safety and effectiveness of vaccination has “not been established in pregnant women”.

Considerations for the Vaccine Decision

Diphtheria is extremely rare in Canada. The chance of getting diphtheria is 1 in 100 million.
There have been no deaths from diphtheria in children in the US for more than 35 years.
The diphtheria vaccine contains aluminum, a known neurotoxin. Other ingredients may include: Polysorbate 80, formaldehyde, and bovine serum albumin, a protein derived from cows.
No clinical trials have examined the safety of administering the vaccine in combination with other vaccines.
The risks associated with combination vaccines have not been tested.
Injecting multiple antigens and toxins at once may increase the risk of overwhelming the body’s natural defence mechanisms and detoxification capacity.
Individual diphtheria vaccines are no longer available.
As of March 31, 2023, there have been more than 204,428 reports of vaccine reactions, hospitalizations, injuries, and deaths following diphtheria vaccinations made to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System, including 3,383 related deaths.[16]
A US HHS study acknowledged that less than 1% of vaccine adverse events are reported.[17]
The safety of the diphtheria vaccine has not been proven against a true placebo.

For more information: https://www.nvic.org/vaccines-and-diseases/Diphtheria.aspx

References

[50] The Vaccine Friendly Plan. Dr. Paul Thomas, 2016. Pp. 119

[51] https://www.nvic.org/disease-vaccine/rotavirus/quick-facts

[52] Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System – https://digital.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/docs/publication/r18hs017045-lazarus-final-report-2011.pdf

Vaccine Product Monographs

DTaP-IPV-Hib (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type b)

Product: Infanrix-IPV/Hib (GSK)

Product Monograph: https://ca.gsk.com/media/6248/infanrix-ipv-hib.pdf (29 pages)

Patient Information sheet:

Manufacturer website: https://ca.gsk.com/en-ca/products

Product: Pediacel (Sanofi)