Whooping cough vaccine: Some parents fear that vaccinations

Last updated: 7/14/2022

Whooping cough vaccine: Some parents fear that vaccinations may have adverse long-term effects on their children's health. In 2009 the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics published research on a routine childhood vaccine for whooping cough. The researchers studied 6811 children born between 1993 and 1997 in Leicestershire, UK. Parents answered questions over a 10+ year period about their children's respiratory symptoms. Researchers then linked this data to independently collected vaccination data from the National Health Service database. They divided the children into groups based on vaccine history (complete vaccines, partial vaccines, no vaccines) and compared respiratory symptoms. The study provided no evidence that vaccinated children were more likely to have respiratory problems such as wheeze and asthma. Which question is this observational study designed to answer? Are infants who are vaccinated against whooping cough more likely to develop wheezing disorders and asthma in later years? Does vaccinating infants against whooping cough cause wheezing disorders or asthma in later years? Are infants who receive a whooping cough vaccination less likely to develop whooping cough in later years?