Tetanus (Tdap) Vaccine

Recommended every 10 years for those 19 years and older.

One dose is recommended for children at age 11 or 12.

 

Tetanus is an acute infectious disease, often fatal, caused by the toxins of a specific Bacillus which is most known to enter the body through wounds.  It is characterized by spasmodic contractions and rigidity of some or all of the voluntary muscles (lockjaw).  In physiology, it is the state of continous contractions of a muscle undergoing a series of rapidly repeated stimuli.

 

Diphtheria is an acute infectious disease as well, characterized by weakness, high fever and formation in the air passages of a membrane (bacillus) which interferes with breathing.

 

Pertussis (Whooping Cough) causes severe coughing spells which can lead to difficulty breathing, vomiting, and disturbed sleep.  It can lead to weight loss, incontinence, rib fractures and passing out from violent coughing.  Up to 2 in 100 adolescents and 5 in 100 adults with pertussis are hospitalized or have complications, including pneumonia and death.

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Pneumococcal (PPV-pneumonia) Vaccine

 

Recomended to be administered every 6 - 10 years.

 

The official name for this vaccine is Pneumococcal Polysaccharide (PPV).  This bacterium, known as Streptococcus Pneumoniae, can cause infections of the lungs (pneumonia), the bloodstream (bacteremia), and the covering of the brain (meningitis).  Anyone can get Pneumococcal disease; however,  persons over 65 years of age, infants, and persons who have special health problems are at a higher risk.

 

The Pneumococcal Polysaccharide vaccine (PPV) contains material from the 23 types of Pneumococcal bacteria that are responsible for nearly 90% of all Pneumococcal bacteremias.

 

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