Anybody know why they don't recommend DTaP after age 6?

[yentroc]

I have an appt with my ped for my 6 yr old unvaxxed dd to get a DTaP on Wed.  I'm waffling now that I have the appt.  My initial concern was tetanus.  Then in talking to my ped, she said my only options were DTaP (have to start now to get 3 doses before age 7), or DT which is technically not approved for kids under 7.  I decided to go with the DTaP, since dd has reactive airway and every cold has us worrying about pertussis.  

I'm just wondering if anyone knows why 7 is the magic age to stop giving DTaP?  Now, I'm just wondering if I want to skip it all together and just get DT later...

[ma2two]

Probably for two reasons: First, DTaP wasn't tested on children over age 6. Second, children can communicate pretty well by age 7, and are more likely to be able to clearly communicate adverse reactions.

The Tdap, which has been tested and FDA approved for children starting at age 10, contains less pertussis antigen than DTaP, and is less dangerous. (I'm not saying it is safe).

[mamakay]

The pertussis part of the DTaP is "too reactogenic" in kids over 6. More weird swellings at the injection site and stuff like that.

The DT isn't approved in younger kids, but it's exactly the same thing as the DTaP, but just without the pertussis part, so giving it off-label is reasonable.

[Marnica]

Originally Posted by yentroc 

I have an appt with my ped for my 6 yr old unvaxxed dd to get a DTaP on Wed.  I'm waffling now that I have the appt.  My initial concern was tetanus.  Then in talking to my ped, she said my only options were DTaP (have to start now to get 3 doses before age 7), or DT which is technically not approved for kids under 7.  I decided to go with the DTaP, since dd has reactive airway and every cold has us worrying about pertussis.  

I'm just wondering if anyone knows why 7 is the magic age to stop giving DTaP?  Now, I'm just wondering if I want to skip it all together and just get DT later...

this is not true there is a pediatric DT in use for children up to 7 years of age. If you want to avoid the pertussis component, ask your ped to oder it. The fact they don;t offer it to you as an option means they are either clueless about the fact it is an option or don't want you to know it's an option.

http://www.fda.gov/downloads/biologicsbloodvaccines/vaccines/approvedproducts/ucm101500.pdf