[12] Vaccination confers near-complete protection from tetanus, provided the individual has received their recommended booster shots.

[16] Guidelines on prenatal care in the United States specify that women should receive a dose of the Tdap vaccine during each pregnancy, preferably between weeks 27 and 36, to allow antibody transfer to the fetus.

[17] It is recommended for pregnant women who have never received the tetanus vaccine (i.e., neither DTP or DTaP, nor DT as a child or Td or TT as an adult) to receive a series of three Td vaccinations starting during pregnancy to ensure protection against maternal and neonatal tetanus.

[6] Because DTaP and DT are administered to children less than a year old, the recommended location for injection is the anterolateral thigh muscle.

[medical citation needed] The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends six doses in childhood starting at six weeks of age.

[6] Tdap is given as a one-time, first-time-only dose that includes the tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis vaccinations.

[medical citation needed] Td is the booster shot given to people over the age of seven and includes the tetanus and diphtheria toxoids.

[7] In 2020, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended that either tetanus and diphtheria toxoids (Td) vaccine or Tdap to be used for the decennial Td booster, tetanus prevention during wound management, and for additional required doses in the catch-up immunization schedule if a person has received at least one Tdap dose.

[14][24] Tetanus toxoid containing vaccines (DTaP, DTP, Tdap, Td, DT) may cause brachial neuritis at a rate of one out of every 100,000 to 200,000 doses.

This is beneficial because it means that if the disease is ever introduced into the body, the immune system will recognize the antigen and produce antibodies more rapidly.

[26] The first vaccine for passive immunology was discovered by a group of German scientists under the leadership of Emil von Behring in 1890.

A more effective adsorbed version of the vaccine, created in 1938, was proven to be successful when it was used to prevent tetanus in the military during World War II.

These combined tetanus and diphtheria with acellular pertussis (TDaP or DTaP), which could be given to adolescents and adults (as opposed to previously when the vaccine was only given to children).