I made a third lunchtime trip to my local travel clinic in as many months on Wednesday. I’ve got their whole routine down, and find myself feeling more and more impatient with each visit. I just want them to give me the “shot of the day” so I can get the heck back to work.
The $98 Yellow Fever shot felt like all the rest. Unfortunately, my health insurance won’t cover this one, as it’s probably considered a “travel immunization” which is specifically excluded. At least I’ve got 100% coverage on all the others I’m getting as part of my preventive benefits.
I’m down to needing a third Hepatitis B shot (late October), and if I’m feeling frisky, the Meningococcal vaccine. While the maps indicate the disease is only a serious threat in the middle of Africa, I was advised that sleeping in dorm style rooms might be sufficient risk to make it a worthwhile jab. I have little interest in spinal meningitis, so I’ll probably get it on my fourth and final visit to the clinic.
I also picked up a 2-week prescription for Doxycycline, an antibiotic used to prevent Malaria. I wanted to test it out while I’m still in the USA to ensure I don’t have any adverse reactions. Next week, I’ll share more about the reason I chose this drug over the 3 others (Chloroquine, Malarone, and Lariam).
___________________
Additional Resources: SmarTravel Profiles on 220 countries. USA Center for Disease Control – Traveler’s Health section. Immunization Action Coalition – Vaccination Information for Healthcare Professionals.
Article Series - Pre-trip Immunizations
- Immunizations, Vaccines, and Shots (Oh My!)
- Meet the Needles
- Shot Through the Arm, Yellow Fever to Blame
- Choosing a Malaria Medication
About the Author:
Dave is the author of 1527 posts on Go Backpacking.
Dave (Editor-in-Chief) blogged his way around the world from 2007-2009, and then started Travel Blog Success to teach others how to do the same. When not writing, he can be found salsa dancing in Medellin. Follow him on Twitter @rtwdave or look for him on Google+
The Travel Blog Success community offers practical resources and personal support to help you build a better travel blog.
Whether you treat blogging as a hobby, or dream of building a location independent business, you'll learn what's required to create a name for yourself in the online travel world.
Benefits of Joining:
- Personal support from Dave, including site critiques and tips on negotiating advertising deals.
- Ability to learn from others' mistakes, and save yourself time, energy and money.
- Chance to network with other travel bloggers of all levels, from around the world.
Categories: Planning, Travel Health & Insurance
4 Comments
Haha, there’s a lot of nasty stuff out there to catch, isn’t there! And malaria meds… Sweet, sweet, dreams!
Doxycicline isn’t supposed to be too bad though, so that’s good.
Correct – doxycicline seemed to be the least toxic of the drugs, least expensive, and most widely available. I sunburn easily though, so I’ll have to be careful about the increased sensitivity.
Haha, there’s a lot of nasty stuff out there to catch, isn’t there! And malaria meds… Sweet, sweet, dreams!
Doxycicline isn’t supposed to be too bad though, so that’s good.
Correct – doxycicline seemed to be the least toxic of the drugs, least expensive, and most widely available. I sunburn easily though, so I’ll have to be careful about the increased sensitivity.