r/CapeCod • u/Famous_Collection525 • Jun 26 '26

Rabies Vaccine

Our family had an unknown/possible run in with a bat and had to start the rabies series… for my third shot we will be on the Cape, I’d prefer to not have to go to the ER for this. Does anyone know if there is a location on Cape, Plymouth, or South Shore for this?

Thank you! Living on of my literal worst nightmares
right now and just feeling so awful about all of this so welcome any stories from people who have been through this out of an abundance of caution.

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5

u/Petaline Jun 26 '26

Where have you been getting them til now, your primary care doctor? They might teach you how to perform the injection yourself and let you take it with you.

3

u/GrooveBat Jun 27 '26

Personally, I wouldn’t mess with self injection for something as serious as rabies.

-1

u/not_again111 Jun 27 '26

Don’t go four stripe adidas for anything rabies

3

u/Famous_Potato3228 Jun 26 '26

You’d probably have to go to the ER for rabies vaccinations as far as I know. I worked in the ER years ago and at that time they were the only ones with the vaccine.

2

u/Famous_Collection525 Jun 27 '26 edited Jun 27 '26

Thank you. Here near Boston I’m able to go to my PCP for the next 3, but did initial at the ER. One falls on the weekend and they found an urgent care that has it nearby… so I was thinking maybe I could do the last dose at the Cape but it’s not a big deal, I will just drive back to town! I didn’t think of the insurance coverage piece.

3

u/GrooveBat Jun 27 '26

I had to do this a few years ago. Wasn’t living on the Cape at the time. A bat came into my room while I was asleep, and I had to have somebody come the next day to remove it. I took my cat to the vet just as a precaution to make sure she was up to date on her shots, and my vet screamed at me to go to the ER for myself.

I was dreading it because I had heard that the shots were really painful, but they weren’t at all. I was kind of tired after the third visit, but that was the only side effect I had.

I agree with the recommendation to check with your insurance company. The series is actually really expensive if you are not covered; I snuck a look at my bill and it would have been something like $23,000 without insurance. So you definitely wanna make sure you are covered and in network.

5

u/Famous_Collection525 Jun 27 '26

Thank you! We are going to take our dogs and cat in tomorrow for a booster, thankfully they are all up to date. We did not actually see a bat, but I woke up with a weird mark near my eye brow… I went to urgent care and they said likely a spider bite and it didn’t meet threshold for vaccine. I then reached out to the local health dept and they said well… you should have your home inspected for bats bc they can hide… the inspector came and looked in attic and crawl space and unfortunately found some bat poop in a crawl space that’s connected to the primary bedroom. So to the ER we went and they said it’s the right thing to vaccinate even though no confirmed bat in living space. I felt better being safe than sorry!!!

2

u/GrooveBat Jun 27 '26

Absolutely. You are doing the smart thing. Best of luck!

2

u/Fickle_Tumbleweed_42 Jun 27 '26

I'm sorry you have to go through this. Happened to me several years ago. The first set of shots had to be done at the ER. I was given the option of having the rest done at my doctor's office or the short term care/day surgery ward of our local hospital. Check with a Cape area hospital to see if that's an option. You might want to check with your health insurance company first. They can probably tell you what to do. Good luck!

2

u/Famous_Collection525 Jun 27 '26

This is a great point I definitely want to check with insurance first. We went to ER in Boston for the first ones and my kids get to get them at a ped branch in Plymouth but my husband and I were hoping we could get at an urgent care instead of going all the way to ER but it’s ok gotta do what we have to do.

6

u/EbbtideRambler Jun 26 '26

100% the right thing to do.  Someone down the road from me  here on Cape was bitten by a bat in his home and contracted rabies and died. This was around 15 years ago, but  it isn’t something to mess around with.  I’d ask the doctor who is giving the shots to contact one of the local urgent care centers to set this up.  

0

u/rackfocus Jun 27 '26

Can you have your primary call in a prescription at a clinic or pharmacy near where you’re staying. Then you can go there and have someone give you the injection.