Can I get a booster shot of rabies vaccine?

Some people may have missed the rabies vaccination time for various reasons. Can they get a make-up vaccination? This is also divided according to the different ages and time of the human body. For adults, if they have been vaccinated with rabies vaccine before, it is generally effective to get a second vaccination a few years later. But for children, it is still better to get vaccinated this morning. After all, children's bodies do not have as high immunity and resistance as adults. In fact, the vaccine has an incubation period and an effective period for the production of antibodies. As long as it is administered at the prescribed time, it will not be greatly affected.

Generally, the validity period of rabies vaccine is about one year. If it has been more than half a year since the rabies vaccination, it is best to get it again. Only by injecting rabies vaccine according to the prescribed time can the corresponding antibodies be produced; if the injection is missed for too long, even if the vaccine is given as a make-up shot, the production of antibodies may be affected.

When should rabies vaccine be given?

1. Prevention after bite. For general bites, i.e. mild abrasions, scratches or licks on broken skin without bleeding, one ampoule of the vaccine should be injected on days 0 (1st day, the day of injection), 3 (4th day, and so on), 7, 14, and 30. The dosage for children is the same. For severe bites, in addition to injecting the vaccine as described above, double the dose of vaccine should be injected on days 0 and 3, and at the same time as the vaccine is injected on day 0, anti-rabies serum (40 IU/kg body weight) or rabies immunoglobulin (20 IU/kg body weight) should be used to infiltrate the bite site and inject intramuscularly. Anyone who uses anti-rabies serum or immunoglobulin in combination must get 2 to 3 booster shots of vaccine after the full course of vaccination is completed, i.e., one booster shot each on the 15th, 75th day, or the 10th, 20th, and 90th day after the full course of vaccination.

In the seven situations where people have been injected with anti-rabies serum one day before vaccination, patients with chronic diseases such as cirrhosis, immunodeficiency, taking immunosuppressive drugs, the elderly, severe malnutrition, or immunization started 48 hours after a bite, the vaccine dose should be increased by 2 to 3 times during the initial vaccination and injected in different parts of the body to achieve a better immune effect. In addition, although some injuries are minor, the amount of invading virus is large or the nerve-rich areas are damaged, which may result in a short incubation period and cases where vaccination alone is ineffective. The World Health Organization recently re-recommended that antiserum should be used for bites that break the skin in any part of the body.

2. For healthy people who have not been bitten, three injections can be given at 0, 7 and 21 days. A booster shot is given one year later, and then another booster shot is given every 1 to 3 years thereafter.

3. The vaccine is for intramuscular injection into the deltoid muscle of the upper arm. Children should be injected intramuscularly in the anteromedial thigh area.

4. Shake the vaccine into a uniform suspension before use.