4sallypat

So we wanted to go next month on our annual spring break internationally.
Last spring we chose Korea and Japan and the year before, we chose Spain & Italy.
Had a great time in Japan as I am Japanese and can speak about the 2nd grade level...

This time we chose Vietnam as my wife is Viet and speaks fluently.

Just as we were about to book the flights, hotels, and excursions I learned that some vaccines were in order...

So I called my doctor's office and they did not have Hep A, Hep B, Typhoid in stock. They told me to contact the local health dept.
So the county health dept stocks the vaccines but has a 1 month wait list for appointments - too late for a last minute trip....
They said to call a private health travel center.
So the private medical company (HealthyTraveler.com) said yes they can provide the immunizations today.
They stocked the hepatitis, typhoid, tetanus, and malaria.
Cost: $450.
They also said Japanese Encephalitis was an option for $900 more and travellers diarrhea meds are $100 option.

This recent experience turned me off because first we did not expect to face so many dangers with injections with so many vaccines, and second the cost of the such an extensive list so we took Vietnam off the table!
We are now going to Europe.

Guess I have been living in a first world bubble .....

MSPeconomist

craz

Been to Nam 3 times, never got any shots of any kind. That said I was in the major cities only and didnt eat just anywhere

glennaa11

I was just in Vietnam and don't think there was any vaccination requirement that I was aware of. But I've been spending a lot of time in that part of the world over the last several years so I have relatively recently had the Hep A/B vaccine. I think they require a number of shots spaced over a particular period of time anyway to be most effective. Adults should have various boosters nonetheless so it's worth organizing through your doctor's office so you will be prepared next time.

Often1

There is no requirement of any vaccinations for travel to Vietnam. However, TIMATIC does show a recommendation and that is based on WHO recommendations. Thus, if OP wishes to travel, he should not be denied boarding or admission to Vietnam. Whether that is smart based on his specific travel plans is a risk tolerance matter for OP to consider.

You may want to consider removing the "thumbs down" symbol. It's not as though these sorts of suggestions are made to gum up the words. Rather they are made to provide realistic health risk management tools. You are, of course, free to go without any of these vaccinations.

On the more practical side, it is a bit hard for those who may have better familiarity with local specifics, without knowing your exact location.

Private travel clinics are generally expensive because they cater to well-resourced businesses who have last minute travel and thus are price insensitive.

With your location and perhaps a bit more calling around, you might find better luck. You may also check with local pharmacies to determine whether they stock or can readily obtain the respective vaccines. Your doc. can then issue a prescription, you pick up the vaccines, and take them to the doc who administers them. It is more and more common as doc's get out of the business of stocking these items.

"Malaria prophylaxis: malaria risk, mainly due to P. falciparum, exists in the whole country, excluding urban centres, the Red River Delta, the Mekong Delta and the coastal plain areas of central Viet Nam. High risk areas are the highland areas below 1500 m. south of 18 degrees N., notably the four central highlands provinces of Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Gia Lai and Kon Tum, Binh Phuoc province and the western parts of the coastal provinces Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, Quang Nam and Quang Tri. Recommended prevention in risk areas: C.
The WHO recommended type of prevention is referred to as:
- Type A (very limited risk of malaria transmission) - Mosquito bite prevention only.
- Type B (risk of non-falciparum malaria) - Mosquito-bite prevention plus chloroquine or doxycycline or atovaquone-proguanil or mefloquine chemoprophylaxis.
- Type C (risk of P. falciparum malaria) - Mosquito-bite prevention plus atovaquone-proguanil or doxycycline or mefloquine chemoprophylaxis.
Chemoprophylaxis should be started preferably one week before departure and no later than the first day of exposure; it must be taken with unfailing regularity and continued for 4 weeks after the last exposure. No prophylactic regimen is 100% protective against infection, but even if it fails to prevent the disease it may, nevertheless, render the infection milder and less life threatening."

4sallypat

Thanks for the replies!
The country nor airline would not prohibit entry into Vietnam without the vaccines, but the CDC and local county health dept all agreed the minimum of Hep A, Hep B, and Typhoid.
We were not going to venture out to any rural areas - just stick with Ho Chi Minh and the Mekong river area....
I am going to have to plan further in advance to go to Southeast Asia.

s0ssos

No, absolutely wrong. Typhoid is unnecessary. Japanese encephalitis-who would even think about that?
You should already have Hep B vaccine.
Hep A? Meh.

LondonElite

Jaimito Cartero

hxhbk

<Whether that is smart based on his specific travel plans is a risk tolerance matter for OP to consider.>

Fully agree. I have done close to 50 trips to Vietnam, mostly in local provinces from North to South, and I have never checked the status of my shots.
Last month I went to Peru (Lima, Cusco, Juliaca). The Kaiser travel nurse office recommended Hep A, Hep B, Typhoid and altitude sickness medicine. I ignore the shots, bought the altitude sickness medicine as a precaution but did not take it after all.
Maybe I am not so smart, but it is about risk tolerance perspective.

5khours

Agree. Unless you engage in risky behavior not too much to worry about. I got Hep A vaccination but only because I make a lot of trips to VN. I do worry a bit about Dengue but there's no vaccine for that.

SQTraveller

I have never had specific vaccinations for trips to SE Asia - including Vietnam and Cambodia.

But, even if you are insistent on not going to Vietnam, there are plenty of other places in the part of the world.

ENJOY!!!

expert7700

Don't forget that many countries that require a vaccine for entry may also administer it for you at the airport for a very cheap price (from what I read they they let you enter the country after getting the shot, however it is not usually fully effective for a couple weeks)

a travel medical clinic in my us city charges ~$350 for yellow fever same day.
department of health in my area charges ~$50 but has a 4-6 week waiting time for an appointment

Instead, I found a very prominent medical travel clinic while on a separate trip to Cape Town, S. Africa. Same day appointment cost $7.04. With a very precise breakdown of expenses: $7 for the consult and vaccination, a penny for the alcohol swab, and three cents for the adhesive bandage.

ginmqi

LOL

I actually feel bad for the OP since I have friends who are overly cautious in things they do. Poor guy.

Hep B - you should already have it seeing you live in the USA
Hep A - fecal-oral contamination, somewhat good to have but not super neccessary if you watch where you eat
Typhoid - same transmission mechanism as above I think, watch what you eat and don't drink un-treated water etc.

Also you can get some of those things too if you travel to certain parts of europe.

Maybe OP should consider just stay in the USA.....

ricktoronto

Typhoid is a danger in large population breakouts where it is hard to mass medicate the infected (liek Cholera outbreaks), not a huge danger for one-off cases for tourists. It's relatively uncommon and treatable. If you are worried ask your MD for some Azithromycin pills to take if you are diagnosed and there is a local issue with getting treatment, which for a tourist (with money) is unlikely. Even in a developing country like Vietnam you should be able to get treated. The main vector is water. You should not be drinking water including brushing your teeth with local water. Buy bottled water. Keep your mouth shut when showering.

Last minute and Hepatitis B vaccination don't go hand in hand as well. There is a 0,1,6 month vaccination requirement. As long as you avoid unprotected sex with strangers and IV drug use you are not at too much risk. Still worth getting started on that.

Skip the JE vaccine which is crazy pricing. I was vaccinated in Bangkok for post Rabies exposure and while I was there they gave me the China/Thai jointly developed JE chimeric via yellow fever vaccine for $15 (now up to $16). $900 is nuts and your risk of exposure is low unless this is a trip to the real boonies. You could stop in Bangkok, go to Mahidol and get all this for almost the cost of the USA pricing alone.

Same as for Malaria. It's not an issue in the cities. The CDC itself says it is not so who in the CDC told you it is? (*) If you think it is, ask your MD for enough doxycycline (cheap) for the daily dose for the trip. Watch sun exposure but it's cheaper and less annoying than Atovaquone-proguanil or tafenoquine and I bet cheaper by far.

(*) CDC current info: Malaria

Areas with malaria: Rural areas only. Rare cases in the Mekong and Red River Deltas. None in the cities of Da Nang, Haiphong, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh (Saigon), Nha Trang, and Qui Nhon.
Drug resistance3: Chloroquine and mefloquine.

As for TD "meds" the usual treatment other than rehydration is Cipro (because it's usually E. Coli) . I am sure Wal-Mart includes Cipro in the 30 days for $4 plan. Get your MD to prescribe 30. Take two (500mg IR) at once, then one every 12 hours for 3 days and see a hospital if no improvement. $100 is insane. These "travel clinics" dupe the unwary, if they sell Cipro for $100. Maybe bring oral rehydration salts packets. If you drink gatorade with an infection, water it down by 50%. Too many weird complex sugars in it. Club soda is good also and cheap and bacteriologically safe (good source of sodium and often, potassium).

I bet in Vietnam in Hanoi or HCMC at a tourist hospital you can get Hep A vaccines for a lot less than these scandalous prices. And start on the others. With a Vietnamese wife you can even prevent getting shaken down.

Or, if you can afford last minute to Vietnam pay for Hep A at least. It's the one most likely due to bad hygiene.