Our dogs and cats get yearly rabies shots, where I live its free and the government even sets up a mobile clinic in our neighborhood. One shot lasts them a year and doesn’t seem to have any negative side effects. Why can’t humans get a similar shot when we go in for our flu shot?
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Humans can be vaccinated against rabies.
They’re mostly vets and virus workers.
You can get six month boosters.
Vaccines exist for humans.
Rabies shots usually aren’t exactly pleasant. Dogs can’t talk and say if they’ve been bitten by a animal, but (most) humans can. You could probably squirm your way into getting them yearly, but it wouldn’t be worth the effort.
You can get one and if you are traveling into an area where rabies is common, you should. I got bit by a rabid dog when working in Honduras and it was not exactly a fun experience.
Even if you’re vaccinated you’ll still have to get a series of shots if you’re bitten, but it buys you more time and you won’t have to get an immunoglobulin injection directly into the bite site (which is what I had to do). Getting immunoglobulin and the vaccine after a bite isn’t a big problem in the US or Europe, but it is a major challenge in certain countries.
The cost (it was >$500 20 years ago) and the fact that treatment is easily available in developed health systems means it’s not common to vaccinate preemptively.
For any medical intervention, the is a risk vs benefit vs cost analysis. It most of the world rabies for humans is extremely rare. Even if you are exposed to it you can get the vaccination up to 3 days after exposure and it still works.
Pets on the other hand can get exposed without the owner knowing about it and could then spread it to other pets and humans. The practical result is if you vaccinate pets that is enough to practialy stop the infection of humans in a large part of the world. Giving humans vaccines is not required so it is not done to the general public.
Vaccine can have complications and if the risk of infection of the general public is low enough the can be more of a problem than the disease. There is alos a cost aspect, just giving it to pets is enough and will be cheaper then if you give it to humans too. So the money can be spent on something better.
For travel to another part of the world where rabies is more common there is recommendation of human vaccination. There might be a requirement for some travel.
They’re super expensive, and most people aren’t at risk of exposure.
I work with animals (wild and captive) and didn’t get my shots until I was bitten.
It’s a cost-benefit issue.
There IS a rabies vaccine for people, but it isn’t cheap (higher quality standards, different formulation and all), and there are some risks as with any vaccine, so the only time people get it is if there’s a significant risk.
In the U.S., animal reservoirs like dogs are well-controlled (stray dog population is heavily curtailed and most places require dogs and sometimes cats to be vaccinated regularly), so the risk to a given individual is vanishingly low.
The people who do get the shot are:
* People who get it as part of Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) because there’s reason to suspect they were exposed, like a bat encounter, or a dog bite from a possibly infected dog (or a dog that cannot be located for quarantine).
* People who work in high-exposure professions like animal control officers and veterinarians.
* People who plan to travel abroad to parts of the world where rabies is more common and/or PEP may not be quickly available (India in particular, but also a number of other places in Asia and Africa. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prevalence_of_rabies#Asia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prevalence_of_rabies#Asia))
Almost all dog rabies shots in the US last for 3 years. There is no difference in the dosage or consistency of the vaccine. The only reason you get it yearly is lobbyists for the animal doctors and vaccine manufacturer have pushed for annual shots so that you have to bring your pet into their office once a year, keeping up their revenue stream.
Its disgusting that pets are being over vaccinated for profit.
Even though your shot is ‘free’ to you its still being paid for with taxpayer dollars.
Rabies vaccines for humans are expensive. At least in developed countries, rabies cases in humans are very rare. It isn’t worth the cost to pre-vaccinate the entire population for a disease only a few people will get a year, especially when there is a treatment for that disease (getting the shot after a bite).
Dogs and cats are much more likely to get into situations where they could get bitten by a rabid animal than most humans, and they aren’t able to communicate to us that they have been bitten so that they could go get treated quickly. As such, it is necessary to give them regular preventative vaccinations.
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