[7] Acellular pertussis vaccine (aP) with three or more antigens prevents around 85% of typical whooping cough cases in children.

[3] Compared to the whole cell pertussis vaccine (wP) used previously, the efficacy of aP declines faster.

[8] The recent resurgence in pertussis infections is attributed to a combination of waning immunity and new mutations in the pathogen that existing vaccines are unable to effectively control.

[13] In 2006, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended adults receive pertussis vaccination along with the tetanus and diphtheria toxoid booster.

[16] Since its introduction the maternal pertussis immunisation programme is very effective in protecting infants until they can have their first vaccinations at two months of age.

Up to 31 October 2014, 10 deaths were reported in infants with confirmed whooping cough who were born after the introduction of the maternal programme.

It is similar to the childhood vaccine called "DTaP" (Diphtheria, Tetanus, acellular Pertussis), with the main difference that the adult version contains smaller amounts of diphtheria and pertussis components—this is indicated in the name by the use of lower-case "d" and "p" for the adult vaccine.

The lower-case "a" in each vaccine indicates that the pertussis component is acellular, or cell-free, which reduces the incidence of side effects.

[20] Whole-cell (wP) remains the vaccine of choice in low and middle-income countries, as it is cheaper and easier to produce.

[21] As of 2018[update], there are four acellular DTaP/Tdap vaccines licensed for use in the United States: Infanrix and Daptacel for children, Boostrix and Adacel for adolescents and adults.

[19] As of April 2016, the United Kingdom authorized five multivalent vaccines that include pertussis components: Pediacel, Infanrix-IPV+Hib, Repevax, Infanrix-IPV, and Boostrix-IPV.

Despite this allegation, doctors recommended the vaccine due to the overwhelming public health benefit, because the claimed rate was very low (one case per 310,000 immunizations, or about 50 cases out of the 15 million immunizations each year in the United States), and the risk of death from the disease was high (pertussis killed thousands of Americans each year before the vaccine was introduced).

[39] However, negative publicity and fearmongering caused the immunization rate to fall in several countries, including the UK, Sweden, and Japan.

[40] For example, in England and Wales before the introduction of pertussis immunisation in the 1950s, the average annual number of notifications exceeded 120,000.

The professional and public anxiety about the safety and efficacy of the whole-cell vaccine caused coverage to fall to about 60% in 1975 and around 30% by 1978.

The actual number of deaths due to these pertussis outbreaks was higher since not all cases in infants are recognised.

[16] In the United States, low-profit margins and an increase in vaccine-related lawsuits led many manufacturers to stop producing the DPT vaccine by the early 1980s.

The price of the DPT vaccine skyrocketed, leading providers to curtail purchases, and limiting availability.