Tdap is a vaccine that protects against tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (whooping cough). The Federal Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved Tdap in 1997.
Mild Side Effects of Tdap vaccine
- Pain, redness or swelling around the vaccination site
- Fatigue
- Nausea and vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Rash
- Swollen glands
- Headache
- Joint soreness
- General aches
- Fever
Severe Side Effects of Tdap
- Anaphylaxis
- Brachial Neuritis
- Death
- Inflammation and damage to the brain (Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis or ADEM)
- Inflammation of the spinal cord (Transverse Myelitis)
- GBS
Tdap vaccine background
The National Institutes of Health recommend one injection of Tdap vaccine for 11- to 12-year-old children and for 19- to 64-year-old adults. They also advise a tetanus-diphtheria, or TD, booster every 10 years following those injections. The Centers for Disease Control cautions that both children and adults face a small risk of mild to life-threatening Tdap side effects.
The most common of these side effects is pain at the injection site, affecting about 75 percent of children and 67 percent of adults. Fever occurs in 4 percent of children and 1 percent of adults. Swollen glands, rash, joint soreness and body aches are very rare.
Read more about Tdap
[blog frame=”false” count=”5″ cat=”164″ meta=”false” desc=”false” image=”false” imageType=”default” title_fontSize=”12″]
