Statistics

• Adverse reactions to the tetanus vaccine are fairly common. Negative reactions have been reported in four of every 500 shots administered, and one of every 500 administered shots results in a fatality, according to vaccineriskawareness.com.
  
  

Common Negative Reactions

• The most commonly reported negative reactions include muscle pain, spasms, numbness, tingling, swollen glands, redness, rash, fever, nausea, vomiting, headache and difficulty breathing.
  
  

Allergies

• Negative reactions can occur with anyone who is allergic to any of the ingredients in the tetanus vaccine, including formaldehyde, thiomersal (a mercury compound), tetanus toxoid and aluminium hydroxide.
  
  

Immunodeficiency

• One of the extreme reactions that has been reported is a drop in white T-cell count and resultant deficiency in immune response similar to that resulting from the AIDS virus.
  
  

Shock

• Some fatalities resulting from the tetanus vaccine were young, healthy people who went into shock shortly after receiving an injection.