Johns Hopkins HIV Guide
Diphtheria vaccine
VACCINE TYPE
- Types/abbreviations:
- DT (tetanus + diphtheria toxoids)
- Td (tetanus toxoid + reduced-dose diphtheria toxoid)
- DTaP (DT + acellular pertussis)
- Tdap (Td + reduced-dose acellular pertussis)
- Usual administrations:
- DT: pediatric diphtheria and tetanus toxoids; no longer available in the U.S.
DTaP is routinely used in children younger than 7 years.- Tdap and Td are used beginning at age 7 years.
- For a child younger than 7 years with the specific contraindication to pertussis-containing vaccine, Td may be used off-label for remaining doses.
- Tdap and Td are given to older children and adults.
- For other combinations, see formulations.
- DT: pediatric diphtheria and tetanus toxoids; no longer available in the U.S.
There's more to see -- the rest of this topic is available only to subscribers.
Last updated: August 9, 2026
Citation
Soto, Caitlin, and Edina Avdic. "Diphtheria Vaccine." Johns Hopkins HIV Guide, The Johns Hopkins University, 2026. Johns Hopkins Guides, www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_HIV_Guide/545279/all/Diphtheria_vaccine.
Soto C, Avdic E. Diphtheria vaccine. Johns Hopkins HIV Guide. The Johns Hopkins University; 2026. https://www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_HIV_Guide/545279/all/Diphtheria_vaccine. Accessed August 29, 2026.
Soto, C., & Avdic, E. (2026). Diphtheria vaccine. In Johns Hopkins HIV Guide. The Johns Hopkins University. https://www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_HIV_Guide/545279/all/Diphtheria_vaccine
Soto C, Avdic E. Diphtheria Vaccine [Internet]. In: Johns Hopkins HIV Guide. The Johns Hopkins University; 2026. [cited 2026 August 29]. Available from: https://www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_HIV_Guide/545279/all/Diphtheria_vaccine.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - ELEC
T1 - Diphtheria vaccine
ID - 545279
A1 - Soto,Caitlin,PharmD, BCIDP
AU - Avdic,Edina,Pharm.D.
Y1 - 2026/08/09/
BT - Johns Hopkins HIV Guide
UR - https://www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_HIV_Guide/545279/all/Diphtheria_vaccine
PB - The Johns Hopkins University
DB - Johns Hopkins Guides
DP - Unbound Medicine
ER -
