The thimerosal-free old rabies vaccine is commonly labeled “TF” , and one example is IMRAB 3 TF for dogs, cats, and ferrets. Thimerosal is the mercury-containing preservative that was removed from that formulation.

What it means

  • Thimerosal-free means the vaccine does not contain thimerosal, the preservative associated with mercury.
  • In rabies vaccine names, TF usually stands for thimerosal free.

Common example

  • IMRAB 3 TF is the name most people are referring to when they ask about the old rabies vaccine without mercury.
  • The FDA also lists IMOVAX RABIES as a human rabies vaccine, but the “TF” label is specifically used to distinguish the thimerosal-free veterinary product variant.

Note

  • If you mean a human rabies vaccine, the usual modern names are different, such as IMOVAX RABIES or RabAvert , and they are not typically described as the “old mercury-free one” in the same way as the veterinary product label.

TL;DR: The name you’re probably looking for is IMRAB 3 TF — the thimerosal-free rabies vaccine.