A nightmarish tetanus case highlights the dangers of not vaccinating

A startling case report released by the CDC yesterday details a gut-wrenching tetanus infection in an Oregon child who hadn’t received any vaccines. The 6-year-old boy contracted tetanus after getting a cut while playing on his family’s farm in 2017 — the state’s first pediatric case in more than 30 years. The boy spent 54 days in the hospital, suffering racking spasms and spending weeks sedated in a darkened room. After the medical marathon, which cost well over $800,000, the boy’s parents still refused to vaccinate him against the disease. “I never thought I would see a case of severe tetanus in the United States,” Dr. Judith Guzman-Cottrill, who helped treat the boy, tells STAT.