UK-wide shortage of rabies vaccine (yet again)

DEC 28, 2023

There is now yet another national shortage of rabies vaccine, with no further supplies of RabipurÂ® available until July 2024. â†’ Fortunately, a temporary solution has now been found with a single batch of 10,000 vials of VerorabÂ® being specially authorised to be imported from the EU, which should be available to most clinics from early January.

We at TrExMed Travel Clinic, Edinburgh are fortunately not usually so vulnerable to such shortages (which have occurred more often than not since July 2022): We are able to (and by default usually) offer intra-dermal rabies vaccinations, the vials of which can be shared by up to five patients at a time, compared with one dose from the same vial given intra-muscularly. We feel this is a much more responsible use of limited resources.

So, until further notice, for ethical reasons i.e. to ensure as many patients as possible have access to this potentially life-saving vaccine, we reserve the right to:

Only offer rabies vaccinations via the intra-dermal (ID) route.
Rearrange some appointments to maximise best use of the remaining vials.
For clients whose need is not urgent, we may need to postpone their first doses.
For short-term travellers who have had a first (double ID) dose, we may ask them to postpone their second dose until later (or after they return): the second (double ID dose) is mainly given to ensure long-term immunity.

We thank you for your patience and understanding with our polite requests until normal supplies resume.

If you have any questions, or if you feel your planned activities mean a high level of rabies risk that warrants special consideration, do please email us here.

Nicky and Jim, 28th Dec 2023