Do the Diphtheria Vaccines Used in the U.S. Stop Infection and Transmission of the Diphtheria Bacterium?
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Do the diphtheria vaccines used in the United States stop infection and transmission of the diphtheria bacterium?
“Yes” or “No”?
When picking an answer, keep in mind that the diphtheria vaccine is part of a combination vaccine (DTap or Tdap) mandated to attend grades K-12 in every U.S. state – it is the “D” in DTaP and the “d” in Tdap – and the justification for this rights-crushing mandate is the belief that the vaccine prevents transmission of diphtheria in the school setting.
(Answer below...)
The diphtheria vaccine is a toxoid vaccine (like the tetanus vaccine) which means each vial of this vaccine contains antigens to a toxin sometimes released by the diphtheria bacterium, but it does not include any antigens to the diphtheria bacterium itself. A study by CDC scientists explains that:
“Diphtheria toxoid helps prevent symptomatic disease but does not prevent the carrier state nor stop the spread of infection … [T]he known importance of carriers in the spread of diphtheria, and the demonstrated failure of toxoid to prevent the carrier state lead us to conclude that the concept of herd immunity is not applicable in the prevention of diphtheria.”
In any event, immunity from the diphtheria vaccine wanes rapidly (even after six doses in childhood!), which is why the CDC provides for revaccination every 10 years during adulthood. (And it is also noteworthy that according to the CDC, at least 37% of adults do not follow this schedule.)
Screenshots of the relevant portions of the CDC website and article linked above (in case they change):
Keep these coming! So helpful! I have a daughter pregnant with my first grandchild. They are about to be deluged with misinformation. I'd like to help counteract it with up-to-date SCIENTIFIC information. She is already being "offered" the RSV vaccine while pregnant. The Covid one will be next. Since when do we inject anything into pregnant women? The RSV vaccine is already showing to cause a higher number of premature births versus the unvaccinated. Stop with the poisoning of healthy mothers and the unborn! The lunacy of big pharma needs to be HALTED.
File under: Things most people don’t realize even as they are paying to have this product administered to a child or themselves. It’s all far more interesting and nuanced than anyone selling such products seems to want to talk about.