Hey there, can anyone tell me how the Dtap vaccine works? When is a toddler considered immune? After which dose? There's about a year between the 3rd and 4th doses. Does that mean they are at risk in between? I will ask our pediatrician but obviously not on a weekend ;)Thank youuuu
My son is overdue for dtap #4. His last was at 6 months old and he's 20 months now. Did the tetanus shot wear off because he's overdue? I don't know how it works but plays in our garden and don't want his immunity to be low or zero. I don't want to fret because it sounds like tetanus was rare even before vaccines and mostly treatable. I just don't even know the fundamentals of this vaccine. I'm leaning toward waiting a little longer to update certain vaccines unless he's not protected enough right now. Thanks so much.
I don't know. My daughter had all recommended vaccines on schedule and still contracted pertussis. She was so sick.
Addition: Whooping cough (pertussis) has reared its ugly head in the past years. Mothers on this site have found out personally with their children just awful whooping cough is. I wouldn't worry nearly as much about tetanus as pertussis. Please discuss this with your pediatrician and don't just "wait".
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After your SWH, please get his shots up to date. He is at risk. If he were not, they would not give 3 shots.
Glad you're going to talk to the ped this week!
http://www.webmd.com/children/vaccines/dtap-and-tdap-vacc...
We followed the recommended schedule and had no problems.
For some people 3 out of 4 shots will be enough but for others it won't be.
You don't know which your child is so err on the side of caution.
Whooping cough alone is nasty enough I wouldn't take any chances with it.
Sigh. Please take your child in for his regular check up/well care visits, where all of your questions/concerns can be addressed by a medical professional. On the weekend you can call the nurse line if you have questions. Trolling the internet and making health decisions based on what something "sounds like" not only puts your own child at risk but EVERYONE ELSE'S :-(
I don't know exactly, but it is my understanding that a toddler is perfectly protected. Adults need to receive booster shots. Were you offered one when your toddler was born?
I was offered the Dtap when my now 6 year old was born. I'm glad I had the shot then, because it's easy for me to remember that I received it just over 6 years ago :-) I know I need the shot again in 4 years, because adults are advised to get a tetnis shot at least every 10 years (I think it's 10 years).
I'm fairly certain your toddler is perfectly well protected.
I wouldn't mess around with tetanus. It might be rare, but it can be very bad. I wouldn't risk it when it's so easy to just get the vaccine! Here's some info about tetanus:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetanus
Don't put it off. Make an appointment with the nurse to get the vaccine. It's worth it.
The Dtap vaccine needs several doses (I don't remember if it's 3 or 4) to reach full effectiveness in small children. And then, your kiddo will need boosters every so often for the rest of his life, since it loses it's effectiveness over time. You don't want to play around with pertussis. Get him the shot now.
Why in the world would you put off getting him this vaccine if you are concerned about him contracting tetanus?
Yes, his immunity is likely to be incomplete--that is why they give children the number of doses they do. If he was fully protected after 3 doses there would not be a fourth.
You need to ask a doctor. But know that by continuing to wait you are putting him and others at risk.
With many vaccines, there are several doses to reach full immunization. From what I have been told, this does not mean that the child is unprotected in the time between doses, but rather the immunity may be temporary. For instance, your child may have immunity for a year or two but if they did not receive the final dose, they may or may not have immunity 5 years down the road. That being said, there are many series vaccines in which certain people may develop sufficient titers after only 1 or 2 doses. For instance, I received 2 doses of the hep b vaccine when you are supposed to receive 3. 5 years later I was pregnant and did not want to get a vax while pregnant, but my doctor said that 2 shots could have been enough for my specific immune system and he pulled by hep b titers. Sure enough, I had the antibodies indicative of vaccination even though I never got that 3rd shot. With tetanus they don't even really know how long it lasts and it is kind of a crapshoot anyway... thankfully it is super rare. Diptheria doesn't really exist in the US either so I am assuming you are worried about the whooping cough. The acellular pertussis vaccine does wear off much quicker than the old one that used to be used, but after even 2 shots the effectiveness was supposedly reported to be over 90%. That being said, there is a recent influx in cases in fully vaxed children so there is a lot of speculation that either the virus has gotten stronger or the vaccine is not working. I won't go into my personal vax beliefs but if I were you I would not be too stressed about any dip in immunity with a toddler. :)
Well, the good news is that your toddler is just past the time for the 4th. It is usually given at 15 to 18 months so 20 months is not too far off. Honestly, I would be more worried about pertussis since it has had a big increase over the last few years.
My son got his 4th at about 19 months due to timing with his appointments.
