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Is it possible to get a (clean/safe) booster dose injection for a Rabies vaccine in Indonesia, preferably Yogyakarta or somewhere else in Java? And if so, where? Other locations in Indonesia are also welcome so the answer is useful to more people.

This is assuming I already had the initial pre-exposure vaccine injections and it's now a year later. The booster dose is required to be protected for another 10 years.

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    Where are you now? How long in Indonesia? When is the technical booster due date? || Interest only: What sort of vaccine - there are several. I had a 4 injection course Cina, 2 x Australia, New Zealand due to a dog bite in China. No mention was made of a booster for mine. May 7, 2015 at 14:09
  • @RussellMcMahon : OP here, I asked this anonymously so I can't update my question. I'm actually still back home but didn't think this to be relevant for the question, hence the 'Assuming' in my post. I will get the initial injections in July and am planning to spend a year in Indonesia shortly afterwards. I'm not sure on the exact type yet. Also, boosters aren't technically necessary, they just extend the effect by a long time. May 10, 2015 at 19:43
  • My research indicates that rabies is rare in mid Java island. (Watch out for the monkeys in Bali though) My son got bit by a caged monkey in Jawa Tengah (mid Java island). Lots of factors/research/doctor consultations... We did not get the vaccination. Better to get the vaccination and not worry. But you can also get it after the bite if necessary.
    – D_Bester
    Apr 25, 2016 at 12:10

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Any public hospital (Rumah sakit) can do i safely.

I am not saying that Indonesian hospitals are good, mind you. As it would be too complicated to give medical students a comprehensive teaching, the medical school mostly rehearse the basic gesture again and again. So they definitely can make a vaccine.

I would say the problem will not be cleanness but logistic inefficiency.
They most likely don't have any vaccine in stock(even in a fancy clinic) and will ask you to come back next week. And will ask you to go to 5 different places to fill some forms.

Expect the staff to be extremely surprised. It may take time for them to understand/believe your request. Prevention is extremely unusual in Indonesian culture.

Useful vocabulary:
hospital : rumah sakit
Rabies : "Rabies" or "penyakit anjing gila" (mad dog disease)
vaccine : vaksin
Come back latter/tomorow : kembalik nanti/besok

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    Thanks for the information, well I will have plenty of time to arrange things since I'll be there for a year. By that time I will also speak basic Indonesian at least. I just wasn't sure if the booster is just exactly the same stuff they also need for post-exposure vaccinations. May 10, 2015 at 19:45
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Self-answering my anonymous question here. In the end after 1 year I really wanted that booster, so I went to the largest hospital in Bali (Sanglah) 2 weeks before the due date to make sure it was possible. They assured me I would be able to get the booster, so I decided NOT to book a flight to Singapore to get it there.

Then when the date arrived, I went to get the booster but they suddenly had no idea what I was talking about and it was explicitly NOT possible to get the booster without actually having been bitten recently.

Long story short, do not count on being able to get a preventive booster in Indonesia.

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