Tetanus vaccine protects against tetanus, also known as lockjaw.
It is recommended that adults receive a booster vaccine every ten years.
Standard care in many hospitals is to give the booster to any patient with a puncture wound who is uncertain of when he or she was last vaccinated, or if the patient has had fewer than 3 lifetime doses of the vaccine. The booster cannot prevent a potentially fatal case of tetanus from the current wound, as it can take up to two weeks for tetanus antibodies to form.
In children under the age of seven, the tetanus vaccine is often administered as a combined vaccine, TDap or DTaP, which also includes vaccines against diphtheria and pertussis.
For adults and children over seven, the Td vaccine (tetanus and diphtheria) is commonly used.
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