Originally Posted by
mmamminna
I met with a nurse from Passport Health and the consult was worth it however left with no vaccinations. She did not push or said which ones were highly recommended vs not. She gave me prescription for 12 malaria pills and 3 anti diarrhea which my insurance covered. The checklist has: 1) Hep A 2) Hep B 3) Flu shot I am def not getting, my primary physician said the season is over 4) japanese encephalitis (rare but deadly) 5) pneummocal 23 6) rabies decided not to do it if I get bitten I will go to the hospital right away. 7)TDP 8) typiod 9) cholera (didn't even know this was a risk) . SO I am not doing 9 vaccines and how do I choose? I am very confused. Friends just went to Vietnam and Cambodia and did no vaccines at all. I don't know what to do.
My thoughts:
Hep A & B: They are now standard vaccines here, if you don't have the series, get it even if you aren't traveling.
Flu: I certainly wouldn't bother for travel.
Japanese encephalitis is not normally recommended.
Pneummocal is standard at IIRC 65.
Rabies, only recommended for those at high risk and it doesn't avoid post-exposure treatment anyway. It does make it less severe, though, and it provides some protection to unknown exposure (say, airborne while in a bat cave).
TDP, you should get the booster every 10 years anyway.
Typhoid. I've gotten the vaccine in the past. At this point my dietary limits the risk is minimal for me so I don't bother with keeping it up to date.
Cholera, I've always had this one when going into Cholera territory. I haven't been there in a long time, though.
In years past I have also had yellow fever and smallpox vaccines.