The diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccine manufactured by Sanofi-Pasteur was approved last month for use as the fifth consecutive dose of the vaccine series in children aged 4 through 6 years, following four previous doses of the same vaccine.
The vaccine, marketed as DAPTACEL (Diphtheria and Tetanus Toxoids and Acellular Pertussis Vaccine Adsorbed) by Sanofi-Pasteur, was approved for four consecutive doses in 2002, administered at 2, 4, 6, and 15–20 months of age. The Food and Drug Administration approved the fifth dose last month, based on safety data and booster responses in a study of more than 400 children for the 4- to 6-year-old dose at 22 different sites, according to Sanofi-Pasteur.
From a practical standpoint, this approval allows pediatricians using DAPTACEL to stock one brand of the vaccine in the refrigerator for use for all five doses, Dr. Robert W. Frenck Jr., professor of pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, said in an interview.
Although there is no scientific reason to suspect that using different brand vaccines for a vaccine series in a child would be ineffective, “from a purist standpoint, if you can use the same vaccine for the whole series, you may argue that it may have some benefit,” added Dr. Frenck, a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Committee on Infectious Diseases.
He was not involved in DAPTACEL studies and had no conflicts to disclose.