Tetanus – The Last Bastion of Belief – Part 2

Informed Consent – Choose Wisely

 

(if you missed Part 1 you can view it here)

 

What about Tetanus shots?

The tetanus toxoid vaccine was introduced in 1938 as a compulsory vaccine only for military personnel. In the US, DPT vaccines were given as a single dose starting in 1950. In 1974, the current shot schedule – giving DTP or DTaP – at 2,4 and 6 months of age began.  Tetanus and Diptheria toxins in the shots, extracted from C. diphtheriae and from C. tetani, respectively, are treated with formaldehyde to convert the toxin to a toxoid which is then adsorbed onto aluminum to ostensibly increase the antibody response to the injection. This process was developed in the 1920s and has never been changed – or retested for efficacy. And 100 years later, neither have the injections been challenged for necessity.

 

What’s in a tetanus shot?

There are at least 8 different shots available that have tetanus as an ingredient. Two of the most commonly administered DTaP vaccines are Daptacel and Infanrix. Their ingredients are as follows:

 

(NOTE: Vaccine ingredients are ALWAYS found in Section 11 of a package insert)

DAPTACEL – Each 0.5 mL dose contains https://www.fda.gov/media/74035/download

• 15 Lf diphtheria toxoid

•  5 Lf tetanus toxoid

• Pertussis antigens:

 

• 10 mcg detoxified pertussis toxin (PT)

• 5 mcg filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA)

• 3 mcg pertactin (PRN)

 

The shot contains 1500 mcg aluminum phosphate (0.33 mg of aluminum)

• ≤5 mcg residual formaldehyde

• <50 ng residual glutaraldehyde

• 3.3 mg 2-phenoxyethanol (not as a preservative).

 

One last thing about DAPTACEL: It has not been evaluated for carcinogenic or mutagenic potential or impairment of fertility

 

INFANRIX – Each 0.5 mL dose contains: https://www.fda.gov/media/75157/download

• 4.5 mg of sodium chloride

• less than 100 mcg of residual formaldehyde

• less than 100 mcg of polysorbate 80 (Tween 80).

• 25 Lf of diphtheria toxoid

• 10 Lf of tetanus toxoid

• Pertussis antigens:

  • 25 mcg of inactivated pertussis toxin (PT)

  • 25 mcg of filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA)

  •  8 mcg of pertactin (outer membrane protein)

 

The ingredients between those two pediatric vaccines are really quite different. What if the doctor gives a different brand at a different visit? What if there is a side effect or an allergic reaction? Which ingredient is it?

 

Will we know? Do they care?

 

Can you have high antibodies and still get tetanus?

Yes, you can.

 

According to multiple package inserts and scientific papers, the anti-tetanus toxoid antibody level that is “generally accepted” to be protective is a titer level of > 0.01 IU/mL. This level was determined to be “protective” in 1937 when the toxoid was injected into ferrets who were then exposed to tetanus spores. Ferrets with a titer level of > 0.01 IU/mL seemed to be immune. This arbitrary antibody level has been the accepted “standard” since that time and has never been evaluated in humans.   

 

In a case report of three people who were diagnosed with severe clinical tetanus, antibody titers were found to be 20 to 2000 times greater than what is deemed to be protective. In a separate series, Goulon’s study of 64 consecutive tetanus patients, 10 had anti-tetanus titers greater than 0.01 IU/ml.

 

• 5 mcg fimbriae types 2 and 3 (FIM)].

 

REF: Crone, Nathan and Reder, Anthony. “Severe tetanus in immunized patients with high anti-tetanus titers.” Neurology. 42:761. 1992

 

Also see:

 

REF: Hopkins, JP et al. “A systematic review of tetanus in individuals with previous tetanus toxoid immunization.” Canada Commun Dis Report. Oct 16;40(17):355-364. 2014.

 

Are Routine 10-year boosters necessary?

Some of you still believe that antibodies protect you from infection. Soon, our “safe and effective” course will be available at Learning4You.org – and you’ll see that antibodies are really just a marker of contamination – they are not “protective” as we’ve been lead to believe.

 

But let’s assume for the sake of the discussion that antibodies do protect you from getting tetanus. Understanding how long they last after a shot series and understanding if a booter is necessary is critical for making an informed decision about tetanus shots. In the US and Canada, adults are recommended to receive a tetanus booster shot every 10 years. Interestingly, the UK and other European nations DO NOT recommend adult booster vaccinations after the initial 5-dose childhood immunization series.

 

A study published in 2016, finally answers the question:

 

The study design:

The duration of protection is the amount of time it takes for the antibody levels to fall to a non-protective level, in this case, to less than 0.01 IU/mL Researchers recruited 546 subjects who had proof of getting a tetanus shot somewhere between 2002 to 2008. They wanted to study how long the antibodies lasted after getting vaccinated against smallpox, tetanus, and diphtheria.

 

What they found:

99% of subjects under 60 years of age and 97% of all subjects had a protective antibody level of 0.01IU/ml. On average, their antibody level was 3.6 IU/ml. The half-life of the anti-tetanus antibody was found to be 14 years. The estimated half-life for anti-diphtheria antibodies was found to be 27 years.

 

What they concluded:

Based on these parameters, the people in the study will remain sero-protected against tetanus for up to 72 years without any additional boosters. If more conservative estimates are used in the calculation, they would remain protected for 64 years, without any additional boosters.

 

Because over-immunization provides a negligible increase in protection, this suggests that the risk-benefit ratio of a decennial adult booster vaccination schedule should be re-examined.

 

The data provided in this study indicate that adult booster vaccination with Td every 10 years may no longer be necessary to maintain protective immunity.

 

REF: Hammarlund, Erika, et al. “Durability of Vaccine-Induced Immunity Against Tetanus and Diphtheria Toxins: A Cross-sectional Analysis.” Clinical Infectious Diseases, Volume 62, Issue 9, 1 May 2016, Pages 1111–1118.

 

But do extra shots cause harm?

As a matter of fact, they do. Exaggerated local reactions can begin 2 to 8 hours after the shot. Persons experiencing these severe reactions usually have very high serum antitoxin levels.

 

Here is an abstract from 1976 that says it all: (also think COVID boosters here)

 

The development of purified vaccines for the control of common infectious diseases may lead to a sense of false security and a tendency to over-immunize. Repeated antigenic challenge may cause hypersensitivity reactions which could harm the individual.

 

For each vaccine there is an optimum time and age for dosing; for those vaccines requiring a course of doses, there is a minimum but no maximum time interval between the doses… In this article, the vaccine control of each disease is discussed briefly, and suggestions are made to avoid hyperimmunization. The need to appreciate the dangers inherent in all immunization procedures in general, and in certain vaccines in particular, is emphasized. Indiscriminate immunization cannot be condoned.

 

REF: Trinca, JC. “Over-immunization – an ever-present problem.” Australia Family Physician. July; 5(6):734-55. 1976 (full text not available)

 

What about tetanus shots and pregnant women?

If you’ve not seen the documentary by my friend, Andy Wakefield, on tetanus shots in pregnant women, called “Infertility: A Diabolical Agenda” you can watch it here. This is the medical journal article used for the film: “HCG Found in WHO Tetanus Vaccine in Kenya Raises Concern in the Developing World.”

 

But there is another diabolical agenda with tetanus shots: they have been used to cause anti-phospholipid syndrome (APS) in mice. The Evidence? look here.

 

What does that study contribute to what we know about the adverse effect of tetanus shots on healthy people? Read here. Here’s the summary:

 

Anti-phospholipid syndrome (APS) is a disorder in which the immune system produces antibodies against certain normal proteins in the blood. The syndrome can cause blood clots in arteries, organs, such as kidneys or lungs, or in veins, a condition known as deep vein thrombosis (DVT). APS can also caused pregnancy complications, such as miscarriages and stillbirths. This study documents that a tetanus shot can cause this syndrome in mice. Tetanus shots are routinely administered to women in 3rd World countries while they are pregnant.

 

The VAERS database showed that in the two years preceding the CDC’s recommendation for all pregnant women to be vaccinated against influenza (and H1N1), 7 miscarriages per year were reported as attributable to vaccination. In 2009, that number rose to 178.

 

The Mayo Clinic reports, “no cure for antiphospholipid syndrome, but medications can be effective in reducing your risk of blood clots.”

 

No Cure? Don’t do things – like get a tetanus shot or a flu shot – that can cause irreversible, even deadly, damage.

 

Tetanus Shots Given During Pregnancy

These are the ingredients from the package inserts of the tetanus shots commonly administered to pregnant women. Note the warning that also goes along with each shot: