Vaccinations

Vaccinations ($513)

Travel vaccinations are not covered by my health insurance, and they are unavailable through my doctor; so I returned to Passport Health.  (Passport Health is where I obtained my vaccinations in 2004 for Tanzania.)  

• Yellow Fever, $172, left arm
• Typhoid Fever, $105, left arm
• Tdap (Tetnus, Diphtheria, Pertussis), $98, right arm
• Passport Health office visit was $67  

Prescriptions were called in to my pharmacy:  

• Cipro (antibiotic - will have with me, in case needed), $2.64 and
• 20 Malarone (anti-malaria), $124; but paid only $68 (thanks to Good Rx coupon from Nurse Jay at Passport Health).  Jay said Good Rx coupons can be used for many prescriptions and most pharmacies accept them.

I asked for a Dengue Fever vaccination (based on the CDC's recommendations for travel to Peru); but it is unavailable in the US.  

From Passport Health, Dec '14 - Dengue Fever cases have been on the rise worldwide. According to WHO, incidence of dengue has increased 30 fold in the past 50 years. WHO estimates over 2.5 billion people are now at risk of dengue and there are about 50-100 million dengue infections worldwide every year. According to the CDC, dengue fever is the most common cause of fever in travelers who return from South Central Asia, Central America and the Caribbean. Significant outbreaks have been reported in the following countries so far this year: American Samoa, Australia, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, China, Colombia, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, France (Southern), Fiji, French Guiana, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Mayotte (Comoros Islands), Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Venezuela, Vietnam, and USA (Florida). 

Dengue fever causes the same symptoms as flu and other kinds of fever and then develops in critical conditions such as hemorrhage, vomiting, or faster heartbeats. Travelers going to areas where dengue is present should promptly seek medical care if illness occurs when they return home and inform their health care provider of their recent travel. 

Persons traveling to areas where dengue is endemic should use insect repellents, wear protective clothing, and reside in facilities with screens and air conditioning when available. No vaccine is available for preventing dengue infection. 

Link to next blog post:  Insurance