VAXBaby 10: The Diphtheria Vaccine

Diphtheria is another vaccine your infant will likely be recommended at 2-months old. It’s the D in the TDaP vaccine. Diphtheria is a bacterial infection that causes a white, leathery coating on your tongue and throat, and like a lot of bacterial infections, it’s not the bacteria itself that’s the problem, but a type of poison we call a toxin the bacteria produces which causes the symptoms. Interestingly, most people get a diphtheria infection and never even know it—it’s just some people that seem to react to it negatively and generate massive amounts of these toxins.