Enhance research, prevention and control of pertussis for protecting public confidence in vaccination: focus on the adverse events of vaccine with insufficient potency and its long-term impacts

Abstract:

On November 3, 2017, the China Food and Drug Administration reported that the potency indexes of two batches of diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus vaccines produced by two companies did not reach the requirements. Insufficient potency could affect the protection effect of these vaccines immunization. Currently, pertussis cases have already showed an increasing trend in China and could last for several years. Such an increase could be linked to these adverse events of vaccine with insufficient potency, which could become an evidence to challenge or deny the effectiveness of vaccination, and brings a persistent inhibition of the public's acceptance for vaccination. The wider global context of pertussis resurgence, previous underestimate on the domestic pertussis, the promotion of detection methods, the change of knowledge about pertussis, the confirmation of pertussis in elder children and adults, the antigenicity variation of pertussis strains could lead to a significant increase of pertussis cases. Health researchers and clinical workers should raise awareness about these factors, and assess rationally the impact of vaccine titer deficiency on pertussis epidemiology for maintaining and promoting public confidence in vaccination.