Getting rabies shots
- August 28, 2003
Don Entz, a frequent 2B contributor, was bitten by a dog and
has to get rabies shots. Here's some info on how to do it: If
you get rabies injections, whether the preventive vaccine or
the series of five injections after being bit by an animal,
the Queen Saowabha Institute at the Thai Red Cross, on the corner
of Rama IV and Henri Dunant roads, is the best place to go.
I went to my regular place right after being bitten on Sunday
afternoon, Samitivej Hospital. The initial treatment was about
2800 baht. NOW, however, I see that each individual shot is
1380 baht....
The Queen Saowabha Institute charges only about 350 baht for
each injection, about 1700 baht TOTAL for the entire series
of five (5) injections.
Samitivej Hospital have undergone a total renovation. All-marble
interior now. Looking really sharp. Even an Au Bon Pain in the
lobby. It WAS looking rather dingy in recent years, but now
it's up there with Bamrungrad in looks. (I guess that's why
they have to charge so much for an injection.)
Update: It appears that Samitivej Hospital may
not have been ripping me off after all. Their doctor said that
Samitivej Hospital is using human diploid vaccine, which is
basically the best kind, and a private hospital like that would
be expected to use the best. The vaccine can be made from other
species, but human is top quality, the primo stuff. She (the
doctor) said that 1380 baht per shot is actually not unreasonable
for that kind of vaccine and that at Saowapha they use something
else that is cheaper, but still effective. She also said that
individual treatment depends on a number of factors, such as
if the bite produced any blood (mine did), no matter whether
it's a lot or a little; and if the patient has been exposed
to a vaccine in the past. I was last vaccinated 14 years ago,
here in Thailand, and even though the doctor at Samitivej said
that the vaccine itself lasts only for about a year, the doctor
at Saowapha said that not being vaccinated in the past EVER
AT ALL would mean that if the bite actually drew blood, even
just a little, then in addition to the vaccine, I would need
some sort of serum (can't remember what she said it's called),
and THAT can run as much as 10,000 baht by itself. It's cheaper
at Saowapha, but still around 5000 or 6000 baht; how much to
take depends on weight. No one at Samitivej mentioned this serum
to me, and I was not given it, but I'm guessing that since the
doctor knew I'd been vaccinated before, he knew I did not need
serum, and so there was no need to mention it. This whole episode
is making it more and more clear, though, that all of you should
GET YOUR RABIES VACCINATION NOW.
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