The U.S. Public Health Service · Episode 24 of 34 · 38 min
Whooping Cough (Pertussis): Two Women, a Vaccine, and the Erosion of Trust
Whooping cough once killed about 6,000 American children a year, and the vaccine that ended it came from two former schoolteachers and a chemist in a Michigan state lab during the Depression. Fears of the whole-cell shot, amplified by a 1982 documentary, led to lawsuits and the 1986 vaccine injury law. A safer vaccine arrived in the 1990s, but immunity wanes and pertussis quietly returned.
Who's who
- Pearl KendrickMichigan health lab scientist who co-developed the pertussis vaccine
- Grace ElderingMichigan health lab scientist who co-developed the pertussis vaccine
- Loney GordonAfrican American chemist on the Michigan vaccine team
- Ronald Reagan+11 more episodesPresident who signed the 1986 vaccine injury act
Where it happens
- Grand Rapids, MichiganHome of the Michigan Department of Health laboratory
Timeline
- 1934Large controlled field trial of the pertussis vaccine
- 1948Vaccine folded into the combined DTP shot
- 1982Documentary 'DPT: Vaccine Roulette' airs and lawsuits surge
- November 14, 1986National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act creates the vaccine court
- 1991-1997Acellular DTaP replaces the whole-cell vaccine
- 2012Pertussis resurgence with about 48,000 U.S. cases
Still debated
The whole-cell vaccine caused real but rare reactions, while claims of permanent brain damage were largely not supported by later study. Observers differ on whether the vaccine court rebuilt or eroded trust, and DTaP is safer but its immunity wanes faster.
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