Rabies Vaccine Schedule For Humans
Anchor CDC PEP days to the first vaccine date while public-health assessment, prior vaccination, HRIG, wound care and delays control the plan. Sensitive inputs stay in your browser.
CalcSpan does not decide whether a contact was a rabies exposure or whether PEP is needed. That risk assessment is urgent and must come from public health or a qualified clinician. Review note: Get an urgent rabies exposure assessment.
Context matters.
- Wash bite and scratch wounds immediately and thoroughly with soap and water. Contact public health or a clinician urgently even when the exposure occurred earlier.
- Previously vaccinated people receive two vaccine doses on Days 0 and 3 and no HRIG. Previously unvaccinated people receive HRIG once plus vaccine on Days 0, 3, 7 and 14; immunocompromised people receive Day 28 and antibody follow-up.
- A missed or delayed dose, treatment outside the United States, uncertain prior vaccine, immune suppression, pregnancy, HRIG question or possible symptom requires direct professional management.
Sources & scope
The calculation guide and this source trail show what the result means, where the rule came from and when it was last reviewed. This is source-and-calculation QA, not a claim of medical, legal, tax or other professional review; time-sensitive decisions still belong with the linked authority.
A visible path from input to answer.
Anchor CDC PEP days to the first vaccine date while public-health assessment, prior vaccination, HRIG, wound care and delays control the plan. The page keeps the calculation scope and its limits beside the result so the output can be checked, copied or revisited.
- Read the record. The calculator uses Potential exposure date, First rabies vaccine date (Day 0), Check date, Public-health / clinician risk assessment and Previous rabies vaccination status and 4 additional fields supplied in the form.
- Apply the scope. It applies the United States rabies PEP reference — CDC risk assessment, wound care, HRIG and vaccine schedule; public health controls reference and the explicit date, unit and counting conventions shown in the result.
- Expose the checkpoints. Intermediate rows, warnings and timeline events stay visible; the emphasized row identifies the primary checkpoint when one exists.
CalcSpan does not decide whether a contact was a rabies exposure or whether PEP is needed. That risk assessment is urgent and must come from public health or a qualified clinician. Review note: Get an urgent rabies exposure assessment.
- Risk assessmentPending
- Previous vaccinationUncertain / nonstandard record
- Calendar conclusionBlocked by an urgent clinical / record gate
Calculation purpose: Anchor CDC PEP days to the first vaccine date while public-health assessment, prior vaccination, HRIG, wound care and delays control the plan. This is a high-sensitivity reference output; the linked authority or qualified professional controls the final decision.
Calendar inputs use plain year-month-day semantics. Leap days, month ends, date-pair order and unsupported dates are checked before the result is shown.
Rule set 2.0.0 · Last reviewed 2026-08-20 · Next review due 2027-02-20. The source panel below contains the linked evidence.
What to know before using the result.
What counts as Day 0 in a rabies PEP schedule?
Day 0 is the date the first rabies vaccine dose is actually given, not necessarily the exposure date. Exposure risk assessment and wound care should begin urgently.
How does prior rabies vaccination change PEP?
CDC says previously vaccinated people generally receive vaccine on Days 0 and 3 and should not receive HRIG. People not previously vaccinated generally need HRIG plus vaccine on Days 0, 3, 7 and 14.
What should I do if a rabies dose is late or missed?
Contact the treating clinician or public-health authority promptly. Do not restart, compress or abandon the course based on a calculator; the care team must resolve deviations and special situations.