Hi Friends:

Well, it is time to ask for advice. In an adjacent county, raccoons have been testing positive for rabies.

So, I need to get protected! I would like to know anything helpful that you can tell me about getting the shot or shots. I asked my doctor - he wrote a prescription and told me to call the health department. The health department had no idea. And, I think that is not the place for me to get the serious injections.

I do have health insurance.

I would greatly appreciate any help you can offer and are willing to share. If you prefer to share information privately, my email address is oaktree4570@gmail.com.

Thanks and best wishes, Willy

Been going through that about the shots here. Some health depts are no help, some are. Most insurance co. will not cover unless you have been bit. Have no good info for you. One health dept. told us that if we had been there a couple of weeks earlier, they could have helped us. They had about 10 vet students come in for shots. The dept said they could have got us in with the vets for a good price. Good luck.

If you're a Veteran, You can get the series of prophylactic Rabies shots, including annual Titer test's free or at low cost at any VAMC. Tell your primary care Dr that you handle wild animals and "NEED" the shots. If they give you any crap, go see the Patient's Advocate or the VA Rep.

Thanks for the info.

Still trying to find administrative info. Also trying to learn how it effects a person with each shot. I don’t want to turn into a wolf man, or worse.

I am not a veteran, but glad to learn that veterans get help.

Best wishes.

Who told you it "effects" us?????...jeeesh.

I never had "effects"

It is cheap insurance to get them even if you have to pay.

The whole series is WAY MORE money than Preventative now and Booster upon bitten.

To me, it was about like getting a flu shot except that the pre-exposure rabies vaccination is given in a three shot series over a 21 or 28 day period. See- http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/idepc/diseases/rabies/risk/preexposure.html

I got the pre-exposure shots about 10 years ago. Since I evict between 5000 and 10,000 bats per year, you might say I'm in an environment that is considered high risk. My wife works for the family doctor, so I only had to pay for the serum. The nurse administered the shots for free. I think it was about $600 back then just for the serum. I get my titer level checked every 2 years. Have never needed a booster.

Keep in mind: This does NOT mean you are good-to-go regarding animal bites. If bitten, you still need the follow-up (booster) shots. It's just a lot cheaper for the follow-up post-exposure shots, and you'll have a head-start on the process.

Well I asked you experts here to get the truth, because of the misinformation spouted by the non-experts - the medical doc and health departments. I want to get a jump on protection since I did encounter 2 questionable raccoons without incident. But, accidents can happen.

Thank you for the info. Best wishes.

I got the same run around and ended up getting them them at a local hospital immunization clinic for people leaving the country. Cost about $ 800 for the three shots. Medicare did not cover it. Got my titer checked this year. Told me it was $750 but gave me discounts for not having insurance coverage and for paying that day and got it down to $350. Preexposure rabies vaccine is recommend when visiting many countries, including Italy.

I got my pre exposure immunization injections in 1984. It is a good idea to get them if you do any work with animals of any kind. A local physician put together a program years ago for dozens of us at that time. I forget now what the cost was back then but never regretted gong thru the series.

I have had many potential exposure circumstances over the last 30 years in my line of work.

Glad you posted this, it reminded me that I need to get my titer checked. My health insurance has never been a problem. They're all about preventative medicine.