Combined acellular pertussis vaccines: new indication. No tangible benefit in primary vaccination

(1) Two acellular pertussis vaccines included in pentavalent combinations are available in France. Their use was initially restricted to booster injections. This restriction has now been lifted, meaning that the two products can be used for primary vaccination. (2) The initial assessment files, which mainly concerned primary vaccination, showed that the acellular pertussis vaccines had fewer mild side effects than the cellular vaccine, but there was no evidence that they were as effective. (3) Some epidemiological studies with fairly short follow-up (about 2 years), conducted in various countries, suggest that the acellular vaccines confer clinical protection. There are no data comparing the bi- and tri-antigenic acellular vaccines marketed in France. (4) For the time being, the whole-cell pertussis vaccine remains the standard.