Easier access to tetanus shots for Hurricane Sandy cleanup workers

Image source: Wikimedia Commons – “this micrograph depicts a group of Clostridium tetani bacteria, responsible for causing tetanus in humans”

Although the flood waters during Hurricane Sandy were dangerous because of their strength and ability to wash a person (or a boardwalk or a house) away, another risk is getting in touch with infectious bacteria in the soil or objects that were touched by those dirty waters. Who knows what got churned up by the water – it could have been anything from car engine oil to human waste. People who are cleaning up after the hurricane that have touched soil and objects that went through that storm water are at risk of contracting a variety of bacterial infections, and the one that is in the forefront of the minds of state and city officials is tetanus, so they are making it easier to get a tetanus shot.

Governor Cuomo has thought about this and “signed an executive order to give people in badly damaged areas easier access to the vaccine in light of a public health concern that the cleanup efforts create a high risk for contracting the potentially fatal bacterial infection.” according to the NY Daily News. Thanks to this executive order, pharmacists, EMTs, and dentists are able to administer the tetanus vaccines to folks in the Rockaways and other parts of  New York State affected by Hurricane Sandy.

According to PubMed, “Tetanus is infection of the nervous system with the potentially deadly bacteria Clostridium tetani (C. tetani). It can find its way into the body through a wound (apparently wounds on the face are more problematic than those on other parts of the body). If it’s not treated, one in four infected people die from tetanus.

If you haven’t had a tetanus shot in the past decade, a booster is recommended. Try your local pharmacy, and if they do not provide them, your doctor can, of course, but so can the NYCy Department of Health and Mental Hygiene .

Cuomo expands access to tetanus vaccines in areas affected by Sandy [NYDN]