28wk whooping cough vaccine - what other things does it vaccinate against?

[trian]

i'm sure it's more than just whooping cough but I can't find out from the NHS website, grrrr.

I was under the impression it now just whooping cough but someone else will know more than me

found it, finally, it should be more obvious tho, given that it's the combining of several vaccines at once that concerns many people

" Why is Boostrix IPV replacing Repevax as the recommended vaccine?

Repevax and Boostrix IPV both protect against whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus and polio, but they are made by different manufacturers. "

My midwife said it was more than whooping cough, as they couldn't source a single vaccine. I'm sure she mentioned tetanus along with others I can't remember.

Yes, it's the combined booster shot mentioned above. I had mine last week (for whooping cough) and the nurse said that the included polio vaccine is not live, if that was a potential source of concern to anyone.

The 'combining several at once' thing isn't something that's an issue in medical circles, only the bits of the Internet that you should probably stay off when pregnant ;) it's one of those things that sounds intuitive, but isn't actually true! It plays on our desires to keep our gorgeous, vulnerable little newborns safe.

Imagine the sheer number of pathogens we are all exposed to on a daily basis - our immune systems, in general, cope beautifully with it. Yes, we get the odd cough, flu etc, but think about how utterly lethal immune deficiencies are - babies born with SCID (severe combined immune deficiency) need to be kept in a bubble for survival. HIV leading to AIDS does the same - you don't die of aids, you die of one of a hundred other things that would never even bother a healthy person - candida, karposi's sarcoma etc etc. being hit with multiple vaccines at the level we do for kids isn't an issue.

The combined vaccine has a great safety record - all vaccines and drugs are monitored constantly even after they've got a licence to be used. We monitor any effects that may appear and the process is really effective (vioxx got pulled due to this surveillance for example.)