Health department offers free Tdap boosters

We’re all supposed to get a tetanus booster shot every 10 years and a booster shot for pertussis.

The city health department is making that easy, by offering free tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis boosters – also called Tdap boosters – for residents ages 11 years and up.

Here are the details:

Special clinics will be held at the Health Department, 2400 Troost Ave., on July 11, July 18 and July 25 from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

“Every 10 years, people should get a tetanus booster shot, and people should have a one-time booster for pertussis,” said Jelene Wynn, RN, public health nurse supervisor. “Especially with pertussis, the effect of the vaccine can diminish as you age, so having that booster shot helps make sure you and the people around you are protected.”

Pertussis is a communicable respiratory disease. Most children who get the disease catch it from an older sibling, parent, grandparent, caregiver or teacher, where their vaccine was not 100 percent effective, their immunity had waned, or they were never immunized. Pertussis affects mostly children and can be deadly.

Tetanus is caused by bacteria that commonly live on rusted surfaces; however, the bacteria can be found on other surfaces, as well. It usually is transmitted through a dirty wound or skin puncture. The most common initial sign is muscle spasms of the jaw or “lockjaw.”

More information on immunization clinic times can be found at www.kcmo.org/health or by calling the clinic at 816-513-6108. More information on Tdap can be found at www.cdc.gov.

 

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