Pediarix Uses

Pediarix offers protection against hepatitis B, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis. It is a combination vaccine that eliminates the need to give your child multiple injections. Healthcare providers will sometimes recommend off-label uses of Pediarix as well, such as for providing protection for children born to mothers with hepatitis B.

What Is Pediarix Used For?

Pediarix^® (DTaP, hepatitis B vaccine, and inactivated polio vaccine) is a routine childhood vaccine. It is a combination vaccine, used in place of three doses of the DTaP vaccine (diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccine), the hepatitis B vaccine, and the inactivated polio vaccine.

Many healthcare providers and parents prefer to use combination vaccines whenever possible in order to reduce the number of injections a child must receive. Using Pediarix instead of the individual vaccines reduces the number of injections a baby receives by up to six injections during the first year of life.

Due to differences among the vaccination schedules for the various components of this vaccine, the three standard doses of Pediarix do not fully complete the recommended vaccine schedules for DTaP and polio. Therefore, children will typically need a separate inactivated polio vaccine dose (usually at four to six years of age) and two separate DTaP boosters (usually at 15 to 18 months and four to six years of age).

How Does Pediarix Work?

This vaccine contains several different components. It contains tetanus and diphtheria toxoids, pertussis and hepatitis B antigens, and an inactivated (killed) polio virus. None of the components of this vaccine are "live," meaning that this vaccine cannot cause diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B, or polio.

This is especially important for polio, since a different polio vaccine (the oral polio vaccine) can, in rare cases, actually cause polio.

Simply stated, the components of this vaccine "trick" the body into thinking it has been exposed to these different infections. The body produces antibodies that will help fight the infections if future exposure occurs.

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