Need for tetanus booster every 10 years overturned with new study

A new study has shown that adults don’t need to be given a tetanus booster shot every 10 years. This would save millions of dollars in health care costs if the adult vaccination schedule was revised. Tetanus, or as it is commonly called, lockjaw, is a very serious disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 13 percent of people who contract tetanus die, and in some at-risk populations, the mortality rate jumps to 30 percent. While a natural immunity is often conferred after surviving an infectious disease, tetanus is not one of those diseases, and if someone survives a lockjaw infection, they can get it again. That’s why young children have to go through a five-shot series and then face regularly scheduled booster shots to maintain a defense against infection. Currently, the CDC recommends that adults need a tetanus booster shot every 10 years to be safe from infection,...