Guess Who Thinks Vaccines Are Connected to Mass Shootings?
Not surprisingly, they weren’t done…
A recent discussion on an anti-vaccine Facebook group asking if there was a connection between vaccines and mass shootings got nearly 1000 comments.
What’s the overall consensus of the group?
Of course they do!
“NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is deeply saddened by the tragic events that occurred over the weekend in Texas and Ohio. These mass shootings are far too common and impact every corner of our nation. Every time we experience a tragedy like this, people with mental illness are drawn into the conversation. The truth is that the vast majority of violence is not perpetrated by people with mental illness. Statements to the contrary only serve to perpetuate stigma and distract from the real issues.
NAMI sees gun violence as a national public health crisis that impacts everyone.”
NAMI Statement on Mass Shootings in Texas and Ohio
Even Larry Cook, the groups founder, has his own secret theory about how vaccines are associated with mass shootings. My guess is that his conspiracy theory involves nanobots…
He spent nearly two months in the hospital, nearly all of it in the ICU, and his care cost just over $800,000. All for a disease that is easily vaccine-preventable.
An Unvaccinated Girl in Italy Has Tetanus
That boy in Oregon wasn’t the first intentionally unvaccinated kid to have tetanus recently and tragically, he won’t be the last.
The girl fell and skinned her knee. Unvaccinated, she ended up in the ICU with tetanus.
The latest case is an unvaccinated girl in Verona, Italy.
The girl, from Povegliano, is intubated and sedated and in critical condition.
Her family is being investigated to see why she wasn’t vaccinated.
Unbelievably, she joins a growing list of kids who have gotten tetanus for no good reason in the post-vaccination era.
an unvaccinated 4-year-old who developed tetanus after a toenail injury. He was intubated for over two weeks.
an unvaccinated 10-year-old in Sardinia, Italy who cut his forehead after crashing his bike
an unvaccinated 7-year-old in New Zealand who had a small cut his foot
an unvaccinated 7-year-old in Australia who cut her foot while playing in the garden
Wondering why it doesn’t happen more often?
Most kids are vaccinated and protected!
And most parents, even those who are scared to vaccinate their kids, understand that tetanus is basically everywhere and almost impossible to avoid.
I recently wrote about how there was a case of diphtheria in Oklahoma last year.
It was a good reminder that we aren’t just seeing measles outbreaks these days.
Need another reminder?
An Unvaccinated Child in Oregon Recently Had Tetanus
An unvaccinated 6-year-old in Oregon developed tetanus.
In a similar case, an unvaccinated 4-year-old got severe tetanus after a minor toe nail injury. (CC BY 3.0)
“In 2017, a boy aged 6 years who had received no immunizations sustained a forehead laceration while playing outdoors on a farm; the wound was cleaned and sutured at home. Six days later, he had episodes of crying, jaw clenching, and involuntary upper extremity muscle spasms, followed by arching of the neck and back (opisthotonus) and generalized spasticity. Later that day, at the onset of breathing difficulty, the parents contacted emergency medical services, who air-transported him directly to a tertiary pediatric medical center. The boy subsequently received a diagnosis of tetanus and required approximately 8 weeks of inpatient care, followed by rehabilitation care, before he was able to resume normal activities.”
Notes from the Field: Tetanus in an Unvaccinated Child — Oregon, 2017
Many folks will recognize the “jaw clenching” from the alternative name for tetanus – lockjaw.
“Upon hospital arrival, the child had jaw muscle spasms (trismus). He was alert and requested water but was unable to open his mouth; respiratory distress caused by diaphragmatic and laryngeal spasm necessitated sedation, endotracheal intubation, and mechanical ventilation. Tetanus immune globulin (3,000 units) and diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP) were administered for presumed tetanus. He was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit and cared for in a darkened room with ear plugs and minimal stimulation (stimulation increased the intensity of his spasms). Intravenous metronidazole was initiated, and the scalp laceration was irrigated and debrided.”
Notes from the Field: Tetanus in an Unvaccinated Child — Oregon, 2017
Wait, wasn’t it too late to vaccinate him at this point?
Of course not.
Remember, tetanus vaccine doesn’t actually kill the tetanus bacteria. Or even prevent a tetanus infection, believe it or not. The tetanus shot is a toxoid vaccine directed against the toxin that the tetanus bacteria makes.
Once tetanus spores germinate, the bacteria have to grow and then produce exotoxins. The exotoxins then have to travel to different sites in your nervous system, where they act as neurotoxins.
At this point, although he was treated with antibiotics and tetanus immune globulin, there is still a chance that spores will germinate and becteria will eventually grow and produce more exotoxin. Getting the vaccine helps ensure that you will make some of your own antibody to fight them.
“His opisthotonus worsened, and he developed autonomic instability (hypertension, tachycardia, and body temperatures of 97.0°F–104.9°F [36.1°C–40.5°C]). He was treated with multiple continuous intravenous medication infusions to control his pain and blood pressure, and with neuromuscular blockade to manage his muscle spasms. A tracheostomy was placed on hospital day 5 for prolonged ventilator support. Starting on hospital day 35, the patient tolerated a 5-day wean from neuromuscular blockade. On day 44, his ventilator support was discontinued, and he tolerated sips of clear liquids. On day 47, he was transferred to the intermediate care unit. Three days later, he walked 20 feet with assistance. On day 54, his tracheostomy was removed, and 3 days later, he was transferred to a rehabilitation center for 17 days.”
Notes from the Field: Tetanus in an Unvaccinated Child — Oregon, 2017
And since you don’t develop natural immunity to tetanus, getting vaccinated helps protect you from future exposures.
After an episode like this, you wouldn’t want to risk your child getting this sick again, would you?
“The boy required 57 days of inpatient acute care, including 47 days in the intensive care unit. The inpatient charges totaled $811,929 (excluding air transportation, inpatient rehabilitation, and ambulatory follow-up costs). One month after inpatient rehabilitation, he returned to all normal activities, including running and bicycling. Despite extensive review of the risks and benefits of tetanus vaccination by physicians, the family declined the second dose of DTaP and any other recommended immunizations.”
Notes from the Field: Tetanus in an Unvaccinated Child — Oregon, 2017
Remember, you can wait too long to vaccinate your kids. You can skip or delay a vaccine long enough that they end up getting measles, tetanus, diphtheria, or meningococcemia, etc., before you get caught up.
More on Tetanus In An Unvaccinated Child in Oregon
Why would anyone want to try and treat tetanus without a tetanus shot?
That’s a good question…
Why would a doctor tell others that tetanus could be treated without a tetanus shot?
That might be a question for a state medical board…
Can You Treat Tetanus Without a Tetanus Shot?
As most people will notice, even looking at the ironically named Physicians for Informed Consent’s own post, you don’t treat tetanus without a tetanus shot.
“Tetanus is a medical emergency requiring hospitalization, immediate treatment with human tetanus immune globulin (TIG), agents to control muscle spasm, aggressive wound care, antibiotics, and a tetanus toxoid booster. If tetanus immune globulin is unavailable, Immune Globulin Intravenous (IGIV) can be used.”
CDC on Tetanus for Clinicians
Even in the study that they used as a reference clearly used both tetanus immune globulin and a tetanus shot.
What might be confusing to some folks, is that tetanus toxoid, is synonymous (has the same meaning) as:
tetanus vaccine
tetanus shot
Td (tetanus toxoid + diphtheria toxoid)
So like most people with tetanus, this patient received both tetanus immune globulin and a tetanus vaccine, a fact I tried to point out so that visitors to Physicians for Informed Consent could get true informed consent about their vaccine choices.
As often happens on anti-vaccine sites, my comment was quickly deleted and I was banned from posting further messages.
And fortunately, the patient, who’s previous immunization history was unknown, got better!
Treating Tetanus With a Tetanus Shot
Why did he have tetanus?
The case they are talking about occurred in Japan, and again, it isn’t known if the patient had ever received a tetanus vaccine.
“In Japan, tetanus toxoid was introduced in 1968, so elderly adults who were born before 1968 have high risk of tetanus.”
Tomoda et al. on Tetanus without apparent history of trauma
He was born in 1950 and although he had no history of recent trauma, “he grew vegetables in a field as his hobby.”
As most people know, gardening is a risk factor for getting tetanus.
And with such a long incubation period, it is very likely that he had a minor wound or injury while gardening, was exposed to tetanus spores, and later developed tetanus symptoms.
Over 100 years ago, we did treat tetanus with just tetanus immunoglobulin, but that was before the tetanus vaccine was developed.
The long incubation period is also the reason that giving a tetanus vaccine works to prevent you from getting tetanus even after you have been exposed. Tetanus spores have to germinate, the bacteria have to grow and then produce exotoxins. And then the exotoxins have to travel to different sites in your nervous system, where they act as neurotoxins.
Hopefully, before they do, the dose of tetanus vaccine you got when you pricked your finger on a thorn, stepped on a nail, or cut your leg, etc., will have already induced you to start making antibodies against the exotoxins – antitoxin. Just in case they don’t, in a high risk case, you also would have gotten a dose of tetanus immune globulin for an immediate dose of antitoxin – antibodies against the exotoxins.
The same thing happens if you have already developed tetanus symptoms. A dose of tetanus immune globulin helps to neutralize neurotoxins that haven’t already started doing damage, and you get supportive care until you recover. Plus antibiotics to kill the bacteria so they won’t make more exotoxins and a tetanus shot.
Why not just give tetanus immune globulin, as the post from Physicians for Informed Consent implied you can do?
It is mostly because a tetanus infection doesn’t stimulate any natural immunity and the immunity you get from tetanus immune globulin is temporary, so won’t prevent a relapsing or recurrent case.
Before the use of tetanus vaccines became standard, it was well known that tetanus relapses were possible.
And because no one would substitute a treatment that is known to work well, a tetanus vaccine with tetanus immune globulin, and switch it out for one that might be riskier and have no extra benefits.
Using immune globulin alone was once the recommended treatment. That was before the tetanus vaccine was developed though. Back then, in the late 19th century and early 20th century, folks with suspected tetanus got treated with anti-tetanic serum that was made in horses. The main problem with this tetanus antitoxin was that it could sometimes trigger serum sickness.
“This case had no apparent portal of entry; there was no history of trauma, and no site was found on physical examination. However, this is not uncommon; no obvious entry site was reported in approximately 26% of cases in Japan.”
Tomoda et al. on Tetanus without apparent history of trauma
And not specific to Japan, that you can get tetanus without a history of trauma should be what really concerns folks in this article that the Physicians for Informed Consent has decided to spotlight.
