May 5, 2005 -- FDA Approves Pertussis Booster for Adolescents

The federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced May 3 that it has approved the first combination vaccine for adolescents 10 to 16 years of age that provides booster immunization against pertussis (whooping cough), as well as tetanus and diphtheria. The new vaccine, Boostrix, is to be given as a single dose. It contains Tetanus Toxoid (T), Reduced Diphtheria Toxoid (d), and Acellular Pertussis Vaccine (ap), Adsorbed. Other T and d booster vaccines for adolescents are currently licensed and marketed, but none contains a pertussis component, according to the FDA. Pertussis, a highly communicable disease of the respiratory tract, causes spells of coughing and choking that make breathing difficult. The disease is generally less severe in adolescents than in infants and young children, but unimmunized older children can transmit it to younger ones. The FDA points out that rates of pertussis have been increasing in the last 20 years among infants and young children who have not received all their immunizations and in adolescents and adults. The new vaccine Boostrix will be marketed by pharmaceutical manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline.