Pre Exposure Rabies Vaccines

[fire-eyez]

:wave123 As some of you already know I have been volunteering at the wildlife center :) and applied to vet school :) I have been searching everywhere to find a place that will take insurance and administer the PRE exposure rabies vaccines.....I need it to be able to work around some animals at the center and it is a required immunization for vet schools especially UF which is my first pick :( it cost $600!!!! and everywhere I called they do not take insurance.... the break down is 3 shots within the month. ($186 first shot +$ 10 exam fee) x 3= ~$600.....These requirement for vet school are killing me I had no idea I just spend like 1500 on applications etc.

If anyone knows of a place I could get it done that would be great or anyone who has received the pre exposure vaccines :)

[psychobird]

i was able to get mine paid for by my insurance because it was a requirment to volunteer at the center i used to volunteer at
i would keep trying drs, your primary dr wont do it?

[fire-eyez]

Well I just called my insurance and they said they do not cover pre exposure rabies vaccine they only cover the rabies like once I am exposed and need treatment so I have so save up the pennies and find dimes I'm trying to see if i find it cheaper than 600

[djarenspace9]

I had the same problem when I first started volunteering.
Then one day I got bit by a dog on the street.
I was probably the happiest person to get bit by a dog! :D
Yeah, it hurt, but I got my rabies shots!
(And those hurt too by the way, but who cares, I got my rabies shots!) :thumbsup

[SammysMom]

If you happened to get "scratched or bitten" by a strange animal (i.e. squirrel, raccoon etc.) it is covered. Of course that animal might just get away and be unavailable for capture. Say you putting out the trash and there was a raccoon baby in the trash can...:poke

[starfairy]

If you happened to get "scratched or bitten" by a strange animal (i.e. squirrel, raccoon etc.) it is covered. Of course that animal might just get away and be unavailable for capture. Say you putting out the trash and there was a raccoon baby in the trash can...:poke
:goodpost :thumbsup

[psychobird]

my dr fought my insurance for it, had to fight for other things i have needed from them too, in the end i usually can get it
talk to your dr and express how concerned you are about being exposed to rabies vector species, mbe he/she can get it for you
other wise those critters in the trash can are bitey little suckers

[2ndHandRanchRescue]

Its been a battle out here too for pre-exposure shots. I found the nurse that does the shots for the vet schools around here. $750 not covered. Same with my Animal Control officer - we went to the county board so I could explaine why my ACO needed the shots. Nope they refused. Same with both of our insurance companies. But get bit and they will cover 100% it is so wrong. My vet got so aggrivated that she and her staff ordered on their own and did their own shots. Doctors and nurses that do the infectious shots for travel to Africa usually do but those stupid insurance companies don't understand. Over the years I've had 2 of my summer staff get bit by 1 a raccoon and 1 a bat - it was horrid.

[Anne]

If a wild animal bites you, and then runs off-the health dept does the shots for free. At least they do in Clay County,FL.

[SammysMom]

That's what I'm talkin' 'bout Anne!!!:thumbsup :thumbsup :thumbsup

[DipityDane]

I'm also going thru this same issue. I want to obtain my rabies vector certification but the pre exposure series is EXPENSIVE!!! I too wondered....that if I happened to get bitten...by a strange cat...who also ran away....then I'd have to have insurance covered post exposure vaccine...hmmmm.:sanp3

[2ndHandRanchRescue]

In Illinois it is NOT handled by our health dept - there was a big broo haa here when I tried to get a pre exposure - my Doctor as actually dropped me because I got mange (scabies in humans) and then I pushed for him to help me with prerabies shots. Ya gotta love small town American (he is also my Animal Control Officers doctor) Big difference between treatment and pre-exposure shots.
If you are bitten you go to the ER and its run through your insurance. Pre-exposure - you are on your own.

http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/specific_groups/travelers/pre-exposure_vaccinations.html

[JLM27]

I got mine covered from the emergency room because I got bitten by a raccoon that ran away in a state forest. (BTW, don't tell them that a squirrel bit you or they will not give it to you.) You will then get a call from the Public Health Officer to verify that you know the risks and to confirm where and how it happened. End of story.

[fire-eyez]

I thought it was different getting a pre exposure compare to being treated for it because I have to give immunization records to the schools to prove it...or is it the same thing?

[fire-eyez]

the prexposure vaccine is a series of 3 shots that are given within the month is that the same for when you are getting treated?

[JLM27]

the prexposure vaccine is a series of 3 shots that are given within the month is that the same for when you are getting treated?

Both are a series of three shots. If you already had the initial vaccination, then they give you two shots as a booster. If not, they give three. The objective is to establish and maintain a certain level of immunity in the blood, and rehab center workers have to have a blood titer every two years (I think).

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

I got mine last year or the year before so I could take in bats. What I have heard is that the reason the shots are so expensive is because the vials can't be reused after opened, so if no one else is getting them, you have to pay for the whole bottle. I am pretty sure that the vet school has a program for the rabies preexposure shots where everyone gets them and then you save money because the vials are being used by 3 people (I think each vial can treat 3 people) instead of only one. At least that's what I have heard from veterinarians. So your best bet would probably to contact the schools you applied to and ask about it. If the wildlife center requires the shots, check with them as to where you should get them, maybe they know somewhere cheap. I had to go to the health department and paid $160 or $180 for each shot :shakehead. Another rehabber told me they got their preexposure shots for like half price by going to a place that gives vaccines to people traveling.