All Done, or Almost Done?

Today we dragged out of bed way too early and headed home, stopping off at camp to pick up Steph for Rabies Shot #4. We were so efficient that we had her back at camp, with bandaid on arm, by lunchtime. I felt bad that she had to miss her morning activities on the first sunny day in a good long while!

Later, when Andy and I went for our shots, we were faced with a dilemma. In a nutshell:
1. When we first went to get our shots, we were told that we needed the initial immuno-globulin thing in our butts, then a series of 5 shots in our arms to ward off rabies.
2. A few days later, my friend Sandy emailed me this article from the Wall Street Journal, which said in part:

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted unanimously that four shots—all given within the first 14 days after exposure to rabies—are sufficient. The panel advises the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which issues official guidance to doctors.

Apparently they've been following tens of thousands of people who were known to be exposed to rabies (as opposed to us, who were only possibly exposed). Believe it or not, even in the face of known exposure and 100% fatality in the case of contracting rabies, some of these people still didn't get their full series of 5 shots. But it turns out that none of them died of rabies. It was thus determined that 4 shots is sufficient protection.
3. We mentioned this to the doctor at the Urgent Care Center when we had our #3 shots last week; she promised to check in with the head of Infectious Diseases.
4. We had a different doctor when we went back today, but he said that he spoke to the head of ID, and he now felt confident recommending only 4 shots. I asked if he himself would get only 4 shots, and he said yes.

But I'm still unsure. On the one hand, why not just get the 5th shot and be done with it? Well, for one thing, it is really disruptive to keep having to take Steph out of sleepaway camp for these shots, and the next one falls on the day after Visiting Day, so they said we'd really need to keep her out overnight. She is loving camp so much, and I just hate to keep messing it up for her. Also, Pete starts a new day camp that day, and Julie will be in day camp also. It's a major pain logistically! It's also not cheap—and not painless either. And today when we went, we had to sit in a waiting room containing about a dozen people in surgical masks with god-knows-what symptoms. Who needs that?

So I am torn. I have emails in to two people I know who are ER doctors, so I'll see if they can shed any light. I have a feeling that 6 months from now, it'll be a no-brainer, but we are right on the cusp of this new protocol.

Comments

[Susan]

I know this isn't helpful but I feel your pain. At first I said, hey, skip the 5th but then I thought what if it were my kid and decided I'd just want the extra added protection. On the other hand, if they had told you in the first place only 4 shots were necessary, you wouldn't think about a 5th. But then I'm not a doctor. I say hope the two other doctors weigh in and go with the majority.

[Elena]

It is hugely inconvenient to get the 5th shot, but that doesn't begin to compare to the potential downside. If it were me, i'd get the shot.