How many doses of rabies vaccine are required?

Jul 16, 2024 Source: Cainiu Health
Disease description:

I was accidentally bitten by a dog and went to get the rabies vaccine, but I forgot to ask how many shots are required. May I ask how many doses of the rabies vaccine are needed?

Doctor's answer (1)
Dr. Yang Ziqi
Rabies vaccine generally refers to the vaccine for rabies. Under normal circumstances, the rabies vaccination schedule involves either four or five injections, which should be administered at a formal medical facility under the supervision of a qualified physician. Detailed explanation is as follows: Normally, after being bitten by a dog, an individual requires a total of four or five rabies vaccine injections. The vaccination schedule typically includes doses on the day of the bite, followed by additional doses on day 3, day 7, day 14, and day 28. Rabies vaccine contains inactivated or attenuated rabies virus components. After vaccination, it stimulates the recipient's immune system to generate an immune response against the rabies virus. Through vaccination, the human immune system can learn to recognize and attack the rabies virus, thereby enabling a rapid response upon future exposure to the virus and preventing rabies infection. According to the recommended vaccination schedule, four or five doses of rabies vaccine are usually necessary to ensure that the immune system has sufficient time to learn and develop immunological memory, thus providing long-lasting immunity.