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YoureSpecial t1_izft9pl wrote

Some diseases/vaccines are that way. When I was a kid, we had to get cholera vaccines every six months; typhus, typhoid, & yellow fever (iirc) were annual.

I think DTaP, or whatever the correct name is, has a 10-year limit, at least the tetanus part. It also appears that you can’t get the standalone tetanus vax any more. I buried a fish hook in my finger (2/0 past the barb; it hurt) and the dr said I should get a tetanus shot; they only had DTaP.

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Faelwolf t1_izfw7y2 wrote

I get the tetanus shot as part of my routine office visit every 5 years, saves me an extra trip to the Dr. at some point during the year. (Wound management schedule timing) Tool Time Taylor has nothing on me! lol

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uh-okay-I-guess t1_izh4lg9 wrote

The tetanus part probably lasts for much longer than 10 years in most people (cases of tetanus in people who received their primary series are vanishingly rare, and some countries don't even give boosters) [1]. But tetanus is kind of like rabies... you'd be crazy to mess around. Even a nonlethal case of tetanus is devastating. Thus, the recommendations tend to be quite conservative, and you should be too.

The aP part (acellular pertussis), on the other hand, actually doesn't last very long. The acellular vaccine unfortunately is just not as effective as the now-discontinued whole-cell vaccine. So even if you think the tetanus version isn't strictly necessary, get your booster for the pertussis portion....

[1] Hammarlund et al, "Durability of Vaccine-Induced Immunity Against Tetanus and Diphtheria Toxins: A Cross-sectional Analysis," Clinical Infectious Diseases 2016.

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