The following article tries to shed light on the vast world of adverse reactions, with a specific look at the one against diphtheria, but we urge you to read all the focuses reported below to understand the other related issues, such as the problem of multiple vaccines, the hypersensitivity to one or more vaccine compounds, the SIDS problem and that of adjuvants. Most of the vaccines on the market are produced, for commercial purposes, in often multiple formulations and this makes the topic of vaccine damage much broader.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has recognized that there is an individual susceptibility to vaccine reactions for genetic, biological and environmental reasons, but that vaccine suppliers cannot accurately predict who will suffer from complications before a vaccine is administered. , injury or death due to vaccination.⁽¹⁾ However, a person who has previously had a severe reaction to a vaccination or who is acutely or chronically ill should educate themselves about all potential risks associated with vaccination and discuss any concerns with a healthcare professional before receiving a vaccine. DTaP/Tdap/Td or any other vaccine.

According to the CDC, possible side effects of the DTaP vaccine include:⁽²⁾ Pain, swelling and redness at the injection site; tiredness; fussiness; fever; Loss of appetite; Vomit; Continuous crying for 3 or more hours; Fever above 40,5°; Swelling of the entire vaccinated limb; Severe allergic reaction; death.

According to the CDC, possible side effects of the Tdap vaccine include:⁽³⁾ Pain, redness and swelling at the injection site; Ringing in the ears; headache;
Nausea, diarrhea, stomach pain, vomiting; Articolar pains; Tiredness; fever; Dizziness or fainting; Severe allergic reaction; Death.

According to the CDC, possible side effects of the Td vaccine include:⁽⁴⁾ Pain, redness and swelling at the injection site; fever; tiredness; heachache; Nausea and vomit; Stomach ache; Ringing in the ears; Vision changes; Dizziness or fainting; Severe allergic reaction; Death.

In 1994, the US Institute of Medicine (IOM) reported that there was compelling scientific evidence to conclude that tetanus, DT, and Td vaccines can cause Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), including death, brachial neuritis, and died from anaphylaxis (shock).⁽⁵⁾ However, in 2012, the IOM Committee reported that there was a lack of evidence to support or reject a causal association between GBS and tetanus, diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis vaccines.

This committee also reported the lack of evidence supporting or rejecting a causal association between encephalopathy, encephalitis, infantile spasms, seizures, ataxia, autism, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), transverse myelitis, chronic disseminated inflammatory polyneuropathy, optic neuritis, multiple sclerosis onset in adults, multiple sclerosis relapse in adults, multiple sclerosis relapse in children, opsoclonic myoclonic syndrome or Bell's palsy, and tetanus, diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis vaccines. However, there was sufficient evidence to convincingly support an association between anaphylaxis and tetanus, diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis vaccines.⁽⁶⁾

In 2017, Guinea-Bissau researchers compared the mortality rates of infants vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus and whole-cell pertussis (DTP) between three and five months of age with those of children not yet vaccinated with the DTP vaccine and found that all-cause mortality rates were significantly higher among infants vaccinated with DTP than among those not yet vaccinated. The researchers also noted that if the oral polio vaccine (OPV) was given at the same time as the DTP vaccine, all-cause mortality rates decreased, but still remained significantly higher than in unvaccinated children.⁽⁷⁾

When the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended in October 2012 that all pregnant women receive a Tdap vaccine during every pregnancy, between 27 and 36 weeks of gestation, it acknowledged that "there is a theoretical risk of severe local reactions”8 in pregnant women vaccinated more frequently due to close multiple pregnancies. The ACIP, however, also acknowledged that no studies have ever examined the safety of giving the Tdap vaccine to pregnant women during subsequent pregnancies, but said it plans to monitor both the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) in the future and the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) to assess adverse events, adverse maternal pregnancy outcomes, and delivery outcomes.⁽⁹⁾

In 2018, the ACIP reported that studies of the use of the DTPa vaccine in pregnancy revealed no "new or unexpected safety concerns."⁽¹⁰⁾ but he admitted that studies on the safety of administering DTP vaccine in pregnancy at close intervals with another vaccine containing tetanus toxoid are limited.⁽¹¹⁾