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Local Health Officials Say Vaccinations are the Key to Avoiding Tetanus

Local health officials are reminding the public about the importance of vaccinations after a young boy from Owen Sound contracted Tetanus.

Vaccinations are in the news again after a young boy from Owen Sound is dealing with a dangerous tetanus infection.

The child was not vaccinated and his condition is improving and he has been moved to a pediatric care bed after spending some time in intensive care. Supervisor in Health Protection with Oxford Public Health Joanne Andrews tells Heart FM "tetanus is very rare illness for people to develop because of the benefits of receiving the immunization so it is very important for people to receive the immunization on time and I would say particularly for adults to check your immunization record to make sure you are up to date for that vaccine and adults can also receive another component in that vaccine once during adulthood that protects them against whooping cough or pertussis as well. The vaccine for tetanus is safe and effective and there is just some mild side effects that can occur after receiving that vaccine which are common, one of them might be swelling or redness at the site of the injection another might be a mild fever and you may feel a little bit tired but those symptoms go away in a day or two."

Children start receiving tetanus shots at 3 months and if your child is not caught up to date on their vaccinations you will be getting a notice home from school.
As for adults you can check with your doctor to see if your caught up to date or you can download the immunizeCA app from the app store on your smart phone. Tetanus is a painful and life threatening condition better known as lockjaw.

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