Rabies Vaccine Supply Update: IMOVAX Rabies Vaccine Availability

Posted: August 28, 2009

Current Situation

• In June 2007, Sanofi Pasteur began renovating its IMOVAX Rabies vaccine production facility in France to mainain compliance with the most current requirements of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and French regulatory body, Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Produits de Santé (AFSSAPS). These renovations are now complete and the facility is approved and operational. As a result, previous limits on purchasing IMOVAX Rabies vaccine for pre-exposure use have been lifted. Vaccine may be ordered for pre-exposure and post-exposure use.
• Health care providers who wish to order IMOVAX no longer need to fill out the Rabies Post-Exposure Use Form or obtain a pass code prior to ordering. IMOVAX Rabies vaccine can be ordered via www.vaccineshoppe.com or by calling 1-800-VACCINE (1-800-822-2463).
• RabAvert vaccine remains available for both pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis, without any supply restrictions as previously updated on May 15, 2009.
• By current ACIP recommendations, pre-exposure vaccination should be considered for persons whose activities bring them into frequent contact with rabies virus or potentially rabid animals, such as veterinarians and their staff, animal handlers, rabies researchers, and certain laboratory workers. Some international travelers may be candidates for pre-exposure vaccination if they are likely to come in contact with animals in areas where dog or other animal rabies is enzootic, and immediate access to appropriate medical care, including rabies vaccine and immune globulin, could be limited. For more information, visit the .
• In addition, health care providers are reminded to take notice of new ACIP recommendations for rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) that reduces the number of vaccine doses in the series from 5 to 4 doses. The new recommendations for PEP reduce the number of human rabies vaccine doses to 4 given on days 0, 3, 7, and 14 by eliminating the previously recommended 5th dose on day 28. Human rabies immune globulin (HRIG) continues to be recommended (20 IU/Kg) on day 0 for persons not considered previously immunized for rabies as defined in the . Please see the Questions and Answers page for more information.

Previous Updates on this Situation

• 5/15/2009
• 2/6/2009
• 10/8/2008
• 9/4/2008
• 8/29/2008
• 8/11/2008
• 7/31/2008
• 7/15/2008
• 6/16/2008
• 5/20/2008