[IMA-HelenT]

Always an interesting vaccine question, and often a divider in a room. But, not medical advice at all, I do know that if you are not vaccinated … and sometimes if it’s a bad puncture wound … the doctor will give a tetanus shot … so many suggest that you only get it if something happens to put yourself (or your child) at risk.

I asked AI for a few facts

“Tetanus is caused by bacteria (Clostridium tetani) found in soil, dust, and manure. A puncture wound from a nail is a classic situation where bacteria can get deep into tissue.

So after something like stepping on a nail, a doctor will usually ask:

When did you last have a tetanus booster?

Was the wound clean or dirty/deep?

Do you have a full vaccination history?

Typical outcomes

Up to date (booster within ~10 years, or ~5 years for dirty wounds):

Usually no injection needed, just wound care.

Not sure / incomplete vaccination / long time ago:

They’ll usually give a tetanus booster shot (Td or Tdap).

High-risk dirty puncture + never vaccinated or unknown history:

You may get:

a tetanus vaccine

and sometimes tetanus immunoglobulin (TIG) for immediate protection”

Would love to hear what others think, and please do keep us posted on your research and decision.

[IMA-HelenT]

I wanted to give you a link to our free vaccination guide from Dr. Mumper https://imahealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Parents-Guide-to-Immunization-Decisions.pdf … it has been updated and I will send you a link once that up.

I also thought that a search on Childrens Health Defence might provide some good info.

[cb2020]

Thank you. A quick search on CHD brought me this pdf: https://childrenshealthdefense.org/wp-content/uploads/ADD_ADHD_5.13a.pdf, which confirms my main concern about the risk–the thimerosal and aluminum which, who knows, could’ve contributed to the challenges he already faces, so maybe too risky.

Thorough cleansing of the wound, possibly Immunoglobulin for immediate aid makes sense. The administration of the tetanus vaccine at time of injury doesn’t make logical sense as the body would already be making antibodies naturally to the exposure.

Thanks for your thoughts and the suggestions for where to find more info.

[IMA-HelenT]

And another bit of info I came across today to add : Another bit of info: Tetanus is a serious disease, but its incidence in modern America is exceedingly rare. According to the CDC’s own data, there are only about 30 cases of tetanus per year in the entire United States, out of a population of 340 million people.

This translates to an annual risk of approximately 1 in 11.3 million.

Sources: The risk of dying from tetanus is 31,000 times lower than dying in a car accident.

It is roughly equivalent to the risk of being struck by lightning.

[mrs-columbo]

Is a tetanus only shot still readily available? Many people don’t realize it is often lumped in the Tdap and don’t ask when going to get a tetanus shot. I have a feeling most places don’t have the single tetanus. Anyone have recent experience on how to get it alone?

[Elizabeth Shelby]

I’m not a medic or a scientist but my son also works in the trades and frequently cuts himself either by stepping on rusty nails, removing rusty metals etc, or with his tools. He hasn’t had a tetanus jab in 33 years, no kill shots either. You would need a good few really big strong men to hold him down to get any needle in him now.

[IMA-HelenT]

Great real life study, thanks for sharing.

[Cindi Anderson]

Tetanus is a fascinating one because the “vaccine” isn’t to a virus like most, or even the bacteria, but to a the toxin it creates. Is it even possible to have a
vaccine to a toxin?

Also since you can’t get it without other vaccines bundled I always decline.

[IMA-HelenT]

👍

[drmumper]

Tetanus risk is much lower than many clinicians think – about 30 cases per year in US in a population of 340 million people. Risk of getting tetanus is about 1 in 11.3 million, just by the numbers. Roughly equivalent to a lightning strike. And yes, the risk is higher from animal manure contaminated areas where the tetanus clostridium live.

Furthermore, tetanus protection from previous immunizations tends to be robust and long lived. In the study below, 546 adults who were followed for 30 years still had protective antibodies. You could ask your son’s doctor to do a tetanus antibody titer to see if he is at risk. If he still has good levels of antibodies, he would not need the shot

All the best,

Liz Mumper

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tetanus Surveillance. In: Manual for the Surveillance of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases. CDC; 2024. Accessed December 18, 2025. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/surv-manual/chpt16-tetanus.html

Hammarlund E, et al. Durability of Vaccine-Induced Immunity Against Tetanus and Diphtheria Toxins: A 30-Year Follow-up Study. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2016;62(9):1111-1118.

[IMA-GregT]

@drmumper Helen and I were going to drop in a screenshot from your slide deck for the conference about the Tetanus stats, but we weren’t sure if that would be ok before you’d delivered your lecture.

Thanks so much for droppiing this note in here. Most appreciated. have a great conference. You deck was chock full of “Mmmmmm, maybe we need to think more about that” kind of info.

Those at the conference are going to love it.❤

[Paul Barbara]

I suggest you ask https://brightanswers.ai/ which is an excellent Health and Medical search engine.

[IMA-HelenT]

👍

[athena 3]

My brother in-law got a Tetanus shot for the rusty nail thing and developed symptoms of Shingles about 2 weeks later. He has had this for about 4-5 years now – an extremely itchy head and face (and rash) that doesn’t get better no matter what treatments he does. It gets worse at night. So sad….

[Denise Massa]

I developed a reaction to dairy after getting this vaccine about 10 years ago. I’ve since learned it’s a vaccine injury since that vaccine contains milk proteins. I create antibodies to casein and can no longer consume anything made with dairy products. I advise against it for that reason along with all the other reasons given above like the very low risk and the availability of antibiotics to address any possible infections.

[drspc]

In 45+ years in SoCal as a pediatrician I have not seen a case of Tetanus