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Proper Use
You will receive this vaccine while you are in a hospital or clinic. A nurse or other trained health professional will give you this vaccine. The vaccine is injected into the upper arm muscle (deltoid). Very young or small children may have the vaccine injected into the upper leg (thigh) muscle.
In order for the rabies vaccine to work properly, it is very important that you do not miss any doses. Keep your appointments with your doctor.
Dosing
The dose of this medicine will be different for different patients. Follow your doctor's orders or the directions on the label. The following information includes only the average doses of this medicine. If your dose is different, do not change it unless your doctor tells you to do so.
The amount of medicine that you take depends on the strength of the medicine. Also, the number of doses you take each day, the time allowed between doses, and the length of time you take the medicine depend on the medical problem for which you are using the medicine.
- For injection dosage form:
- For post-exposure prophylaxis if you have never received rabies vaccine before:
- Adults and children—One dose on the first day after rabies exposure (day 0), then one dose three, seven, and fourteen days later for a total of four doses. On the first day, you will also receive an injection of the rabies immune globulin.
- Adults and children with an immune system problem will need five doses of the vaccine. The last dose is given twenty-eight days after the first dose.
- For post-exposure prophylaxis if you have received rabies vaccine before:
- Adults and children—One dose on the first day, then one dose three days later for a total of two doses.
- For pre-exposure prophylaxis if you have never received rabies vaccine before:
- Adults and children—One dose on the first day, then one dose seven and twenty-one or twenty-eight days later for a total of three doses. The vaccine is injected into, or under the skin of, the muscle (deltoid) in the upper arm. Very young or small children may have the vaccine injected into the upper leg (thigh) muscle.
- For pre-exposure prophylaxis if you have received rabies vaccine before (also known as a booster dose):
- Adults and children—One dose injected into, or under the skin of, the muscle (deltoid) in the upper arm. Very young or small children may have the vaccine injected into the upper leg (thigh) muscle.
- For post-exposure prophylaxis if you have never received rabies vaccine before:
Missed Dose
Call your doctor or pharmacist for instructions.
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