# Got a vaccination and 1/2 leaked out, still effective? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 30, 2017, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-vaccination-and-1-2-leaked-out-still-effective/797621 "2017-09-30T01:08:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-vaccination-and-1-2-leaked-out-still-effective/797621/1 "2017-09-30T01:08:47Z")
So I got a vaccination injection but a lot of fluid and blood immediately welled right out of the injection site (left shoulder deltoid.) I think the phlebotomist hit a blood vessel with the needle. Seems like half of the vaccine’s contents just leaked right out. Is the shot still effective? Do vaccinations usually need the full dosage to work? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-vaccination-and-1-2-leaked-out-still-effective/797621/2 "2017-09-30T01:49:26Z")
IANAD but I believe you can get a blood test to check to see if the correct antibodies have developed. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-vaccination-and-1-2-leaked-out-still-effective/797621/3 "2017-09-30T01:50:31Z")
Which vaccine was it? I’m kind of surprised they didn’t re-vax you. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-vaccination-and-1-2-leaked-out-still-effective/797621/4 "2017-09-30T02:43:59Z")
Medical advice is best suited to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-vaccination-and-1-2-leaked-out-still-effective/797621/5 "2017-09-30T03:45:58Z")
Best practice; ask a doctor. Second best; check with a pharmacist. My understanding is that how various vaccines are dosed and all varies somewhat. ---
**Author:** ![SamuelA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-vaccination-and-1-2-leaked-out-still-effective/797621/6 "2017-09-30T03:55:37Z")
Just a comment, but you know that no doctor or pharmacist is going to know the answer to this question. Like, at all. Any of them. The only way to find out is to (a) look at research on the particular vaccine. (b) look at the relative effectiveness of different dosing levels measured during clinical trials. Be aware that it’s a crap shoot. Plenty of vaccines would work at a lower dosage, but even with full dose, a certain percentage (for some vaccines, 10-20 percent or more) of people don’t benefit from the vaccine anyway. The only way to know if it worked in your case is to measure the antibodies. Whether it’s worse the hassle is : are you likely to die if you get sick with the disease the vaccine is protecting against? ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-vaccination-and-1-2-leaked-out-still-effective/797621/7 "2017-09-30T04:23:40Z")
At least a couple of people have said you should undergo testing to see if the vaccine took effect. Why? If there is doubt, just get another dose of the vaccine, unless your doctor says that an additional dose is harmful. I don’t understand why you would want to go to the extra time, expense, and risk of doing testing (again, unless there is a reason not to administer a second dose). Why poke, take blood, and run tests if you can just get another shot, which you might end up doing anyway (again, unless there is reason not to administer a second dose)? ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-vaccination-and-1-2-leaked-out-still-effective/797621/8 "2017-09-30T10:34:16Z")
What kind of health care professional delivers this shot and doesn’t notice/remark/advise on a lot of it oozing back out? And why wouldn’t you be asking questions of that person, right then? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-vaccination-and-1-2-leaked-out-still-effective/797621/9 "2017-09-30T14:04:57Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > What kind of health care professional delivers this shot and doesn’t notice/remark/advise on a lot of it oozing back out? And why wouldn’t you be asking questions of that person, right then? It’s not uncommon in America to get vaccinations in places like drug stores, supermarkets, or Walmarts. Some of the people delivering these vaccinations may not be at the top-tier of the health care profession. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-vaccination-and-1-2-leaked-out-still-effective/797621/10 "2017-09-30T23:35:37Z")
> [@SamuelA](#): > > Just a comment, but you know that no doctor or pharmacist is going to know the answer to this question. Like, at all. Any of them. I am wondering about that statement and the reasoning thereof. Not debating it; just curious where it comes from. ---
**Author:** ![SamuelA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-vaccination-and-1-2-leaked-out-still-effective/797621/11 "2017-09-30T23:52:20Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > I am wondering about that statement and the reasoning thereof. Not debating it; just curious where it comes from. I meant off the top of their head. No pharmacist or doctor that sees patients is likely to even be an expert on vaccines. Maybe if you went to see the head of infectious disease at a major hospital, they might actually have an idea what the answer was. Everyone else would have to look it up, and they probably wouldn’t be any better at it than a layman with google. Whether or not half a dose is likely to have worked is very specific information that may not even be available. There simply might not be any study where they tried smaller doses for the vaccine in question. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-vaccination-and-1-2-leaked-out-still-effective/797621/12 "2017-10-01T00:00:05Z")
Is this is a follow-up to these threads? [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=832895](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=832895) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=833501](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=833501) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-vaccination-and-1-2-leaked-out-still-effective/797621/13 "2017-10-01T00:43:56Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Is this is a follow-up to these threads? > > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=832895](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=832895) > > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=833501](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=833501) That’s what I assumed. Quick test: fill a glass with water. Gaze at it. Does it fill you with existential dread? If not, you don’t have rabies. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-vaccination-and-1-2-leaked-out-still-effective/797621/14 "2017-10-01T01:48:07Z")
So, if I understood the original thread, no doctor was willing to prescribe rabies shots, because you didn’t need them. Later, you started asking questions about the consequences of getting the wrong rabies shots, or getting injected at the wrong time or in the wrong order, or something. Now you’re asking what happens if an injection gets screwed up. So, care to give us the whole story? Are you injecting _yourself_ with something? Rabies vaccine from Mexico? Rabies vaccine for dogs? Homeopathic rabies vaccine? Or, feel free to keep going with the mysterious teaser threads every few weeks, it’s quite entertaining trying to guess what on earth you are doing. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-vaccination-and-1-2-leaked-out-still-effective/797621/15 "2017-10-01T23:05:47Z")
> [@SamuelA](#): > > I meant off the top of their head. No pharmacist or doctor that sees patients is likely to even be an expert on vaccines. Maybe if you went to see the head of infectious disease at a major hospital, they might actually have an idea what the answer was. Everyone else would have to look it up, and they probably wouldn’t be any better at it than a layman with google. Whether or not half a dose is likely to have worked is very specific information that may not even be available. There simply might not be any study where they tried smaller doses for the vaccine in question. OK – makes sense. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2017, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-vaccination-and-1-2-leaked-out-still-effective/797621/16 "2017-10-02T02:34:54Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > So, care to give us the whole story? Are you injecting _yourself_ with something? Rabies vaccine from Mexico? Rabies vaccine for dogs? Homeopathic rabies vaccine? I feel like we need to introduce him to the dog-ass-valium woman, it seems like a match made in questionable-medical-practice heaven. ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-vaccination-and-1-2-leaked-out-still-effective/797621/17 "2017-10-03T23:34:21Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > I feel like we need to introduce him to the dog-ass-valium woman, it seems like a match made in questionable-medical-practice heaven. the what? Oh please, tell this story ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-vaccination-and-1-2-leaked-out-still-effective/797621/18 "2017-10-04T00:00:27Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Or, feel free to keep going with the mysterious teaser threads every few weeks, it’s quite entertaining trying to guess what on earth you are doing. I haven’t been following this saga, really. Has it really been several weeks that this has been going on? Rabies, from all I’ve ever heard, is a very fast, very deadly, and very _gruesome_ disease. If it’s been several weeks and OP isn’t dead yet, I would guess he’s probably out of the woods by now. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-vaccination-and-1-2-leaked-out-still-effective/797621/19 "2017-10-04T03:23:35Z")
> [@Weisshund](#): > > the what? > Oh please, tell this story This thread touches on the dog ass valium sharing and general ‘lets just pass around pills’ attitude: > **[It's Time Again for Stoid!](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=777084)** > > Over in IMHO, Stoid, in This thread, our long-suffering lone lawyer (who knows more about law than either her counsel OR the judge) accuses her (let us hope former) vet of complicity in the death of her dog. It comes down to: Stoid has a history of... The lawsuit threads were also… interesting: > **[Arrogant Attorney Asshats](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=515561)** > > I was going to go for a different title for the symmetry, but it wouldn’t have been accurate. Here’s my core beef, (at least at this particular moment, since I don’t want to take the time to recite every beef) I actually know and understand the... > **[I argued in front of the Court of Appeal today.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=563256)** > > And after two years of intense anticipation, it was remarkably anti-climatic, which I should have expected. I was scared and nervous, but reports back to me are that I was calm, clear, focused, and my points were well made. Now the waiting. I’m ok... ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-vaccination-and-1-2-leaked-out-still-effective/797621/20 "2017-10-04T06:59:32Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I haven’t been following this saga, really. Has it really been several weeks that this has been going on? Rabies, from all I’ve ever heard, is a very fast, very deadly, and very _gruesome_ disease. If it’s been several weeks and OP isn’t dead yet, I would guess he’s probably out of the woods by now. Well … it’s not _that_ fast. SOP for a bite from an otherwise healthy, vaccinated, dog is to quarantine him for 10 days and wait and see what happens. You don’t need to start the rabies treatment unless the dog is sick - and even then you still might wait a few days for a lab confirmation. (The lab test is always fatal to the animal; that’s why for otherwise healthy, vaccinated, beasts, they do the quarantine first). You don’t have to panic and start the full treatment as soon as you’ve been bit. That’s where Velocity keeps tripping up. He was agitating for the full treatment from the word go, despite the advice of his medical professionals, and eventually got some vaccine that keeps causing him problems.