I had the rabies shot to travel a few years ago when I knew I’d be spelunking around bats. I think I’ve had just about every travel-related vaccine possible and rabies was by far the worst in terms of side effects.

I also didn’t know until after I was given the vaccine rundown but getting the shot doesn’t protect you like most vaccines do. The way it was explained to me was if you get bit without the shot you have hours to get to a hospital to get the vaccine for the first time but if you’ve had the shot and you get bit you have maybe a day to get to a hospital and get the vaccine again. When you’re in a remote area that extra time is crucial but I hadn’t realized rabies was still such a serious risk of potential infection even after vaccination.