5 ms·

Do adults need tetanus booster shots?

34 points by susam 5y ago

raxxorrax 5y ago
Not if you regularly get one from your doc when you had another laceration. Although I am not sure if they still do that when they are unsure about your vaccination status. It is recommended to get a booster every 10 years. Bacteria can be everywhere in the earth and if you do garden work I would heavily recommend that. A tiny cut you don't even notice is enough. I know someone who survived Tetanus. Barely and with lasting problems. No, this is not an endorsement to get a booster shot for Covid and it isn't comparable.
- peteradio 5y ago
  I wish it was routine to do a blood test to determine the individuals characteristics before recommending an inoculation. In this day and age of big data there doesn't seem to be any sort of excuse except "its just cheaper and less liability arises by recommending the vaccine". I'm more concerned about my individual result not some actuarial assessment coming from a single dimension like time since last they paid for our shot. This is just a rant about how vaccines in general are treated. Dogs are generally recommended to get rabies vaccines every 2 years even though there has never been any indication that the vaccine is needed again. Its only out of an abundance of caution in that single dimension without obvious long term outcome observation.
  - ghaff 5y ago
    I assume any test result would also result in some sort of "actuarial assessment" just like most medical treatments are. ADDED: You're also now talking about getting lab work done, waiting for test results, then having to rush to the doctor if they determine you should get a shot. Sounds like a big hassle relative to just getting a booster for an utterly routine vaccination.
  - brianwawok 5y ago
    My vet also requested we did heart worm medicine in the middle of Indiana winter. You know, when it’s 30F out and 0 mosquitos. I think there is def some stretching of dangers in order to sell more foobobs. (Same vet I asked for them to validate my RX for chewy so I could buy heartworm medicine, and they declined stating that they can’t validate the authenticity of online pharmacies so they wouldn’t do it. Pure cash grab)
    - bluedevil2k 5y ago
      Heart worm eggs can lay dormant in the bloodstream/muscles for up to 2 years, so the monthly pills ensure that no matter when they hatch they can’t develop into the worm. Yes, your vet is only looking out for their own profit here. Find a new one.
      - brianwawok 5y ago
        Right, but if you take monthly pills all summer - there is nothing in your bloodstream to need to worry about in the winter. And yes, we dumped that vet. Been through like 4 vets in as many years, it's wild.
  - jimbob45 5y ago
    IMHO getting blood drawn is more painful than any vaccination I've ever received.
    - bbarnett 5y ago
      Yes, but, I think this is where we need to go. We can super-early detect some cancers now, via blood tests. vitamin deficiencies. A plethora of conditions and diseases, early on, too. Why not test all these things at once, and improve health?
    - peteradio 5y ago
      I had blood drawn for an antibody test literally 4 hours ago. I was utterly amazed that I didn't even feel the needle go in. I probably embarrassed myself by how loudly I complimented the nurse. Your mileage will vary.
  - Enginerrrd 5y ago
    I'm not trying to totally refute your point, but it's worth noting that the desire for more testing is a common and somewhat naive perception amongst the public. Doctors that practice medicine however are aware that it has been shown that in many different contexts, even despite the benefits of early detection of a number of different issues, that the risks of unnecessary tests and screening often outweigh the benefits.
    - peteradio 5y ago
      Wouldn't that depend on whether the test was harmful? Why would a blood test cause me harm? I think its a part of routine physical.
      - Enginerrrd 5y ago
        >Wouldn't that depend on whether the test was harmful? This is a huge topic, for which this forum is too small a place to properly expound on it, but the answer to your question here is a resounding NO! The risk of the test procedure itself is typically not actually the main concern. The real risk has to do with inducing additional unnecessary testing, treatments, and side effects, costs, and psychological distress. In addition, you can cause profound nocebo effects, perceptions, and negative behavior changes in the "harmless" test-intervention group. You'd likely be surprised how negative an outcome this can actually be on average. The decision to add a screening test to routine procedures is NOT a light one.
  - bbarnett 5y ago
    The problem with rabies, is how it turns the animal wildly violent. And how that change is designed to spread the virus.
  - pessimizer 5y ago
    > its just cheaper and less liability arises by recommending the vaccine I wouldn't call these excuses, I'd call them very good reasons. I'd much rather have a quick cheap jab than bloodwork and weeks of back and forth. If I didn't need it, it was harmless. If I did, it may have been lifesaving.
    - peteradio 5y ago
      I think its great that you have that option.
  - Sohcahtoa82 5y ago
    IMO, it's a cost/benefit analysis. What's the damage caused by giving a booster that was unnecessary? Compare that to the cost of regular testing to find if a vaccination is necessary when we already have an idea of what an average is for the duration of immunity/resistance given by a vaccine. It'd probably cost me $50 to get my blood drawn and sent to a lab to determine if I needed a tetanus booster. Meanwhile, just giving me the damn booster is probably like $20. Just give me the damn booster. If you've had reactions to vaccines in the past, then sure, by all means, do the blood work to determine the necessity of a booster first, but for the general population, it's probably better to just boost.
hsnewman 5y ago
Not another Russian anti-vax propaganda article!
pgrote 5y ago
According to the article, yes. "Even though it happens rarely, people can still get tetanus and experience serious or deadly effects. There is no cure for tetanus, and no definitive proof that you will have lifelong immunity with childhood vaccinations alone. So for now, the CDC continues to recommend booster vaccines every 10 years to help your immune system protect against these infections. If you have questions about the tetanus and diphtheria vaccine, talk to your doctor."
- dzdt 5y ago
  No you are reading that wrong. The article says that new research suggests the answer is "no". In the conclusion you quote it is not answering the question "do adults need tetanus booster shots" but rather "what should you do?" I think this is correct. The correct advice for an individual is not to plan their own vaccine regimen based on reading popular exposition of leading edge research. You are better off following the CDC guidelines as your general approach, EVEN IF new research is suggesting those guidelines might be flawed.
  - _0ffh 5y ago
    So, the CDC recommends one thing, the WHO something different. Where does the appeal to authority leave you at now? In the end, you'll have to make up your own mind.
magic5227 5y ago
“ There is no cure for tetanus, and no definitive proof that you will have lifelong immunity with childhood vaccinations alone. So for now, the CDC continues to recommend booster vaccines every 10 years to help your immune system protect against these infections.”
susam 5y ago
I had a very minor injury from a broken door handle today. It was barely a little more than a scratch. I did not think much of it but my wife suggested that I get it checked by a doctor to see if I needed a tetanus shot. My last tetanus shot was more than 10 years ago. So I cancelled my meetings for the day and visited a doctor. The doctor indeed prescribed a tetanus shot despite the injury being very small, so I got the shot about an hour ago. Then came back home and sat down to read more about it on the web. That's when I came across this article and thought I might as well share it with the HN community.
- the-dude 5y ago
  Was this Dr. Baader or Dr. Meinhof? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_illusion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_illusion
  - detaro 5y ago
    How is "thing happened to me, so I searched for more info, here's an article I found" a frequency illusion?
    - dqv 5y ago
      No it's just the grandgrandparent is very close to something you see on HN a lot where someone says "this just happened and now I'm seeing a post about it!" The grandparent probably just misread is all.
    - CoolGuySteve 5y ago
      It wouldn't be Hacker News without the condescending but factually incorrect replies. That's what we're all here for right?
      - dang 5y ago
        "Don't be snarky." "Please don't sneer, including at the rest of the community." https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
JohnWhigham 5y ago
This is one of those things where there's virtually no good resources on: what vaccines one got as an infant to re-up on as an adult.
- Enginerrrd 5y ago
  Yeah it's interesting, I got a booster for chicken pox when I was 20. I was given the vaccine the first year it was available, and it was my opinion that we didn't know enough to know what the titres looked like for adults in my cohort, so I talked my FNP into giving me one. (I was working as a paramedic at the time, and was dealing with a lot of shingles patients. While shingles is not a very contagious manifestation of the virus, I thought it prudent to protect myself since it can be a gnarly illness in an adult.) For the diseases that are less severe for adults than children, I was less concerned. I do get my tetanus boosters since it also re-ups my immunity to pertussis (which wanes) and I have a lot of contact with babies and small children in my life.
  - jonhohle 5y ago
    Did you have chicken pox as a kid? My wife and I were 80s kids where you still got stuck in a room with other kids to intentionally get chicken pox. I had a mild case when I was 5 and have never been offered a shot, and was actually surprised to learn they were a thing when our kids were little.
  - rootusrootus 5y ago
    I anxiously await becoming eligible for the shingles vaccine. I've heard it's a pretty nasty disease. Coincidentally, I was chatting with a lady a couple days ago who told me she got shingles when she was a teenager. Not only that, it was a severe case, and on her face. She still has the scars.
extr 5y ago
A few months ago I had an incident with my dog where I was teasing her with a toy and she finally "got it" and also a bit of my hand in the process (my fault, the dog is not aggressive and immediately ran to hide when she realized she had broken skin). I went to the doctor and he recommended a tetanus shot "just to be safe". Coincidentally, I was scheduled to get my 2nd COVID shot that same day. Apparently guidance right now is not to double stack vaccines like this, so it was an interesting back and forth with the pharmacist on whether or not it made sense to do it anyway. We did and I got both vaccines the same day (different arms), no issues in the end, but I did feel like a bit of a guinea pig!
- jacobwil 5y ago
  The CDC has issued guidance that the COVID-19 vaccines and routine vaccines can be administered without regard for each other’s schedules including at the same time. As I understand it, there are a few reasons why this wasn’t always the case (including wanting to isolate COVID-19 vaccine symptoms and side effects from others at the start of the rollout). Source: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/hcp/faq.html https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/hcp/faq.html
  - extr 5y ago
    That's basically what the pharmacist said: it's probably not a hazard, more like your data point on side effects is not going to be useful because of the co-mingling. Good to know that they nailed it.
- scrollaway 5y ago
  Oof, yeah, I wouldn't have gone for it myself. I had a pretty severe fever after my last tetanus booster shot; and my first CureVac shot (mRNA, https://www.curevac.com/en/covid-19/ https://www.curevac.com/en/covid-19/) gave me an atrocious 40 degree fever (that's 104F for the differently-scaled). I'm sure they don't just …. add up, but I can't imagine having a good reaction to both at the same time.
  - Johnny555 5y ago
k__ 5y ago
I don't usually get vaccinated, but when I do, it's for tetanus. Background: Everytime I had an inflammation, my MD would ask if I had a tetanus shot, and since I always forgot my vax-pass, I got a new shot.
- raxxorrax 5y ago
  10 years ago some docs were quite liberal with getting out shots. I think that has stabalized a bit.
stillbourne 5y ago
I used to get really sick from tetanus shots but I don't have a reaction to the most recent versions. Even if they did lay me out for a day or three I would still prefer it to death by tetanus induced lockjaw.
- rootusrootus 5y ago
  I wonder sometimes what it means to have no reaction to vaccines. I've had lots of vaccinations. In the military I lost count of how many pneumatic shots I got, including ones for things like yellow fever, which have a reputation for making you sick. But I never have a reaction. Not to to the aforementioned yellow fever shot, not to the tetanus shot, nothing for either of my COVID shots (which were Pfizer). I hope they're all working :) But I 100% agree that I'd rather get sick from a shot and know that it was just annoying, not serious, than to actually risk the real deal.
- ortusdux 5y ago
  It could have been an allergy to one of the ingredients. They have been refining and simplifying vaccines over the years in light of new research. I have a mild allergy to neomycin, which is a common ingredient in the flu shot. The newer cell-based version typically does not contain it. The tech though I was vax-hesitant when I insisted on seeing the covid shot ingredient list.
  - stillbourne 5y ago
    I don't think it was an allergy, usually an allergy has a fast reaction and happens within 15m, I usually get an immune response though which is more similar to what happened with second shots of the mrna vax for covid. I get a high fever for 3 days and that's that. But the last time I had the shot was after I bludgeoned my foot with a rusty shovel that was about 4 years ago and I had no immune response this time which is more akin to what happens when I get a flu shot.
roland35 5y ago
There was one time in my life where I had an amazing comeback related to the tetanus shot. My coworker was complaining all day about how his arm was sore from his tetanus booster, so I finally asked him "Do you remember when I got my booster?" "No?" "Yeah that's right, because I wasn't whining about it all day!" *the tetanus shot has a reputation for being somewhat painful
- nolok 5y ago
  I'm sure it's much less painful than actual tetanus, given the horribly painful way in which that disease kill or maim people.
  - roland35 5y ago
    I completely agree! I am completely pro vaccine.
rootusrootus 5y ago
I'm guessing a lot of parents end up with boosters. My doctor recommended a TDAP booster as soon as he found out my wife was pregnant. It was more about the pertussis than tetanus, but still, it's all in the same shot.
moistly 5y ago
Fortunately (?) I’ve managed to slice myself often enough to be administered the booster at the same time I get stitches. I’d otherwise never remember to get it.
fallinghawks 5y ago
I used to get a booster every 10 years because I was a hunter and went to places that might have wildlife and lots of junk to get cut on like bundles of old barbed wire.
bg117 5y ago
I'm not diabetic and have a healthy lifestyle. I got a tiny injury on my foot during gardening with a iron rod scraping my skin. It didn't look threatening for a couple of days until my legs started swelling. I visited a doctor and gave medications and it went away. I got injured 2nd time after a few months on my leg and injury refused to heal. I visited another doctor again and the first thing he did was to give me a tetanus shot. I observed that it helps in healing and my overall immunity had improved. Lack of immunity shows up in the skin and the symptoms fade away once it improved. So, periodic Tetanus shot is needed ( once every 3 years). If you are used to spending long hours in cubicles and not much life outside, its the cheapest way to be healthy.

34 points by susam 5y ago

Not if you regularly get one from your doc when you had another laceration. Although I am not sure if they still do that when they are unsure about your vaccination status. It is recommended to get a booster every 10 years. Bacteria can be everywhere in the earth and if you do garden work I would heavily recommend that. A tiny cut you don't even notice is enough. I know someone who survived Tetanus. Barely and with lasting problems. No, this is not an endorsement to get a booster shot for Covid and it isn't comparable.

peteradio 5y ago
I wish it was routine to do a blood test to determine the individuals characteristics before recommending an inoculation. In this day and age of big data there doesn't seem to be any sort of excuse except "its just cheaper and less liability arises by recommending the vaccine". I'm more concerned about my individual result not some actuarial assessment coming from a single dimension like time since last they paid for our shot. This is just a rant about how vaccines in general are treated. Dogs are generally recommended to get rabies vaccines every 2 years even though there has never been any indication that the vaccine is needed again. Its only out of an abundance of caution in that single dimension without obvious long term outcome observation.
- ghaff 5y ago
  I assume any test result would also result in some sort of "actuarial assessment" just like most medical treatments are. ADDED: You're also now talking about getting lab work done, waiting for test results, then having to rush to the doctor if they determine you should get a shot. Sounds like a big hassle relative to just getting a booster for an utterly routine vaccination.
- brianwawok 5y ago
  My vet also requested we did heart worm medicine in the middle of Indiana winter. You know, when it’s 30F out and 0 mosquitos. I think there is def some stretching of dangers in order to sell more foobobs. (Same vet I asked for them to validate my RX for chewy so I could buy heartworm medicine, and they declined stating that they can’t validate the authenticity of online pharmacies so they wouldn’t do it. Pure cash grab)
  - bluedevil2k 5y ago
    Heart worm eggs can lay dormant in the bloodstream/muscles for up to 2 years, so the monthly pills ensure that no matter when they hatch they can’t develop into the worm. Yes, your vet is only looking out for their own profit here. Find a new one.
    - brianwawok 5y ago
      Right, but if you take monthly pills all summer - there is nothing in your bloodstream to need to worry about in the winter. And yes, we dumped that vet. Been through like 4 vets in as many years, it's wild.
- jimbob45 5y ago
  IMHO getting blood drawn is more painful than any vaccination I've ever received.
  - bbarnett 5y ago
    Yes, but, I think this is where we need to go. We can super-early detect some cancers now, via blood tests. vitamin deficiencies. A plethora of conditions and diseases, early on, too. Why not test all these things at once, and improve health?
  - peteradio 5y ago
    I had blood drawn for an antibody test literally 4 hours ago. I was utterly amazed that I didn't even feel the needle go in. I probably embarrassed myself by how loudly I complimented the nurse. Your mileage will vary.
- Enginerrrd 5y ago
  I'm not trying to totally refute your point, but it's worth noting that the desire for more testing is a common and somewhat naive perception amongst the public. Doctors that practice medicine however are aware that it has been shown that in many different contexts, even despite the benefits of early detection of a number of different issues, that the risks of unnecessary tests and screening often outweigh the benefits.
  - peteradio 5y ago
    Wouldn't that depend on whether the test was harmful? Why would a blood test cause me harm? I think its a part of routine physical.
    - Enginerrrd 5y ago
      >Wouldn't that depend on whether the test was harmful? This is a huge topic, for which this forum is too small a place to properly expound on it, but the answer to your question here is a resounding NO! The risk of the test procedure itself is typically not actually the main concern. The real risk has to do with inducing additional unnecessary testing, treatments, and side effects, costs, and psychological distress. In addition, you can cause profound nocebo effects, perceptions, and negative behavior changes in the "harmless" test-intervention group. You'd likely be surprised how negative an outcome this can actually be on average. The decision to add a screening test to routine procedures is NOT a light one.
- bbarnett 5y ago
  The problem with rabies, is how it turns the animal wildly violent. And how that change is designed to spread the virus.
- pessimizer 5y ago
  > its just cheaper and less liability arises by recommending the vaccine I wouldn't call these excuses, I'd call them very good reasons. I'd much rather have a quick cheap jab than bloodwork and weeks of back and forth. If I didn't need it, it was harmless. If I did, it may have been lifesaving.
  - peteradio 5y ago
    I think its great that you have that option.
- Sohcahtoa82 5y ago
  IMO, it's a cost/benefit analysis. What's the damage caused by giving a booster that was unnecessary? Compare that to the cost of regular testing to find if a vaccination is necessary when we already have an idea of what an average is for the duration of immunity/resistance given by a vaccine. It'd probably cost me $50 to get my blood drawn and sent to a lab to determine if I needed a tetanus booster. Meanwhile, just giving me the damn booster is probably like $20. Just give me the damn booster. If you've had reactions to vaccines in the past, then sure, by all means, do the blood work to determine the necessity of a booster first, but for the general population, it's probably better to just boost.

hsnewman 5y ago

Not another Russian anti-vax propaganda article!

pgrote 5y ago

According to the article, yes. "Even though it happens rarely, people can still get tetanus and experience serious or deadly effects. There is no cure for tetanus, and no definitive proof that you will have lifelong immunity with childhood vaccinations alone. So for now, the CDC continues to recommend booster vaccines every 10 years to help your immune system protect against these infections. If you have questions about the tetanus and diphtheria vaccine, talk to your doctor."

dzdt 5y ago
No you are reading that wrong. The article says that new research suggests the answer is "no". In the conclusion you quote it is not answering the question "do adults need tetanus booster shots" but rather "what should you do?" I think this is correct. The correct advice for an individual is not to plan their own vaccine regimen based on reading popular exposition of leading edge research. You are better off following the CDC guidelines as your general approach, EVEN IF new research is suggesting those guidelines might be flawed.
- _0ffh 5y ago
  So, the CDC recommends one thing, the WHO something different. Where does the appeal to authority leave you at now? In the end, you'll have to make up your own mind.

magic5227 5y ago

“ There is no cure for tetanus, and no definitive proof that you will have lifelong immunity with childhood vaccinations alone. So for now, the CDC continues to recommend booster vaccines every 10 years to help your immune system protect against these infections.”

susam 5y ago

I had a very minor injury from a broken door handle today. It was barely a little more than a scratch. I did not think much of it but my wife suggested that I get it checked by a doctor to see if I needed a tetanus shot. My last tetanus shot was more than 10 years ago. So I cancelled my meetings for the day and visited a doctor. The doctor indeed prescribed a tetanus shot despite the injury being very small, so I got the shot about an hour ago. Then came back home and sat down to read more about it on the web. That's when I came across this article and thought I might as well share it with the HN community.

the-dude 5y ago
Was this Dr. Baader or Dr. Meinhof? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_illusion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_illusion
- detaro 5y ago
  How is "thing happened to me, so I searched for more info, here's an article I found" a frequency illusion?
  - dqv 5y ago
    No it's just the grandgrandparent is very close to something you see on HN a lot where someone says "this just happened and now I'm seeing a post about it!" The grandparent probably just misread is all.
  - CoolGuySteve 5y ago
    It wouldn't be Hacker News without the condescending but factually incorrect replies. That's what we're all here for right?
    - dang 5y ago
      "Don't be snarky." "Please don't sneer, including at the rest of the community." https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

JohnWhigham 5y ago

This is one of those things where there's virtually no good resources on: what vaccines one got as an infant to re-up on as an adult.

Enginerrrd 5y ago
Yeah it's interesting, I got a booster for chicken pox when I was 20. I was given the vaccine the first year it was available, and it was my opinion that we didn't know enough to know what the titres looked like for adults in my cohort, so I talked my FNP into giving me one. (I was working as a paramedic at the time, and was dealing with a lot of shingles patients. While shingles is not a very contagious manifestation of the virus, I thought it prudent to protect myself since it can be a gnarly illness in an adult.) For the diseases that are less severe for adults than children, I was less concerned. I do get my tetanus boosters since it also re-ups my immunity to pertussis (which wanes) and I have a lot of contact with babies and small children in my life.
- jonhohle 5y ago
  Did you have chicken pox as a kid? My wife and I were 80s kids where you still got stuck in a room with other kids to intentionally get chicken pox. I had a mild case when I was 5 and have never been offered a shot, and was actually surprised to learn they were a thing when our kids were little.
- rootusrootus 5y ago
  I anxiously await becoming eligible for the shingles vaccine. I've heard it's a pretty nasty disease. Coincidentally, I was chatting with a lady a couple days ago who told me she got shingles when she was a teenager. Not only that, it was a severe case, and on her face. She still has the scars.

extr 5y ago

A few months ago I had an incident with my dog where I was teasing her with a toy and she finally "got it" and also a bit of my hand in the process (my fault, the dog is not aggressive and immediately ran to hide when she realized she had broken skin). I went to the doctor and he recommended a tetanus shot "just to be safe". Coincidentally, I was scheduled to get my 2nd COVID shot that same day. Apparently guidance right now is not to double stack vaccines like this, so it was an interesting back and forth with the pharmacist on whether or not it made sense to do it anyway. We did and I got both vaccines the same day (different arms), no issues in the end, but I did feel like a bit of a guinea pig!

jacobwil 5y ago
The CDC has issued guidance that the COVID-19 vaccines and routine vaccines can be administered without regard for each other’s schedules including at the same time. As I understand it, there are a few reasons why this wasn’t always the case (including wanting to isolate COVID-19 vaccine symptoms and side effects from others at the start of the rollout). Source: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/hcp/faq.html https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/hcp/faq.html
- extr 5y ago
  That's basically what the pharmacist said: it's probably not a hazard, more like your data point on side effects is not going to be useful because of the co-mingling. Good to know that they nailed it.
scrollaway 5y ago
Oof, yeah, I wouldn't have gone for it myself. I had a pretty severe fever after my last tetanus booster shot; and my first CureVac shot (mRNA, https://www.curevac.com/en/covid-19/ https://www.curevac.com/en/covid-19/) gave me an atrocious 40 degree fever (that's 104F for the differently-scaled). I'm sure they don't just …. add up, but I can't imagine having a good reaction to both at the same time.
- Johnny555 5y ago

k__ 5y ago

I don't usually get vaccinated, but when I do, it's for tetanus. Background: Everytime I had an inflammation, my MD would ask if I had a tetanus shot, and since I always forgot my vax-pass, I got a new shot.

raxxorrax 5y ago
10 years ago some docs were quite liberal with getting out shots. I think that has stabalized a bit.

stillbourne 5y ago

I used to get really sick from tetanus shots but I don't have a reaction to the most recent versions. Even if they did lay me out for a day or three I would still prefer it to death by tetanus induced lockjaw.

rootusrootus 5y ago
I wonder sometimes what it means to have no reaction to vaccines. I've had lots of vaccinations. In the military I lost count of how many pneumatic shots I got, including ones for things like yellow fever, which have a reputation for making you sick. But I never have a reaction. Not to to the aforementioned yellow fever shot, not to the tetanus shot, nothing for either of my COVID shots (which were Pfizer). I hope they're all working :) But I 100% agree that I'd rather get sick from a shot and know that it was just annoying, not serious, than to actually risk the real deal.
ortusdux 5y ago
It could have been an allergy to one of the ingredients. They have been refining and simplifying vaccines over the years in light of new research. I have a mild allergy to neomycin, which is a common ingredient in the flu shot. The newer cell-based version typically does not contain it. The tech though I was vax-hesitant when I insisted on seeing the covid shot ingredient list.
- stillbourne 5y ago
  I don't think it was an allergy, usually an allergy has a fast reaction and happens within 15m, I usually get an immune response though which is more similar to what happened with second shots of the mrna vax for covid. I get a high fever for 3 days and that's that. But the last time I had the shot was after I bludgeoned my foot with a rusty shovel that was about 4 years ago and I had no immune response this time which is more akin to what happens when I get a flu shot.

roland35 5y ago

There was one time in my life where I had an amazing comeback related to the tetanus shot. My coworker was complaining all day about how his arm was sore from his tetanus booster, so I finally asked him "Do you remember when I got my booster?" "No?" "Yeah that's right, because I wasn't whining about it all day!" *the tetanus shot has a reputation for being somewhat painful

nolok 5y ago
I'm sure it's much less painful than actual tetanus, given the horribly painful way in which that disease kill or maim people.
- roland35 5y ago
  I completely agree! I am completely pro vaccine.

rootusrootus 5y ago

I'm guessing a lot of parents end up with boosters. My doctor recommended a TDAP booster as soon as he found out my wife was pregnant. It was more about the pertussis than tetanus, but still, it's all in the same shot.

moistly 5y ago

Fortunately (?) I’ve managed to slice myself often enough to be administered the booster at the same time I get stitches. I’d otherwise never remember to get it.

fallinghawks 5y ago

I used to get a booster every 10 years because I was a hunter and went to places that might have wildlife and lots of junk to get cut on like bundles of old barbed wire.

bg117 5y ago

I'm not diabetic and have a healthy lifestyle. I got a tiny injury on my foot during gardening with a iron rod scraping my skin. It didn't look threatening for a couple of days until my legs started swelling. I visited a doctor and gave medications and it went away. I got injured 2nd time after a few months on my leg and injury refused to heal. I visited another doctor again and the first thing he did was to give me a tetanus shot. I observed that it helps in healing and my overall immunity had improved. Lack of immunity shows up in the skin and the symptoms fade away once it improved. So, periodic Tetanus shot is needed ( once every 3 years). If you are used to spending long hours in cubicles and not much life outside, its the cheapest way to be healthy.