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ViViDogWear


Kate Spade

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Vaccines for traveling - sort of a vent
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We are traveling to Malaysia and Cambodia next month.  I guess I am slightly paranoid so I wanted to get all the vaccines CDC recommended.  Since my insurance wouldn't cover anything except for Tetanus (which I convinced them should be covered if it is required every 10yrs). 

So today I went to the travel health clinic and paid $265 for 1st round of Hep A, 1st round of Hep B, Typhoid, and office visit.  Now Malaria pills will cost me a total of $92 and I will need a total of 3 more Hepatits shots.  I think all these vaccines are going to cost as much as the trip!  Sheesh!  A lot of my travel companions are "risking it" and not getting anything but the malaria pills. 

Do you guys think it's not really necessary and that I am just throwing the $ away?  Only good point I see with the Hep shots which are so expensive  is that I'll only have to do it once in my life and I'll be covered. 


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Marc Jacobs

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I am a firm firm firm believer in vaccines for travel. In the long run, which is going to be more expensive? A nice case of typhoid or simply paying the money for the vaccine up front? It's ridiculously expensive (and painful in many cases! The typhoid shot knocked my arm out of commission!) but totally a necessity.

I'm a little confused why you got Heb B though. It's only spread through blood/body fluids so unless you're working in a hospital or planning on visiting the lovely stereotypical SE Asian brothels I don't see that it's necessary. Since you got the first one though, I would stick with it. But I hate to tell you that that one wasn't necessary.

And the malaria pills? Look on the bright side, maybe you'll get some cool hallucinations out of them!

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Maddie


Coach

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I also think vaccines are a good investment.  Even Hep B is a good idea.  I got vaccinated when I was like 13 with no plans to leave the States, just because.  What kind of malaria pills are you being prescribed?  I got doxycycline (or something like that) for like five months and it was only $25.  Malarone and Larium are considerably more expensive, while only debatably more effective.  And Larium is known for having extremely bad and fairly common side effects.

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e_doli


Dooney & Bourke

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Is there a risk of malaria in the specific areas you will be traveling to? The first time i traveled through central america, i was advised to take malaria pills but did some research and found out the the malaria risk in the specific places i was traveling was minimal. so i elected not to take the malaria pills and just be vigilant about using bug spray.

i would look into this and see if you really need to take the malaria pills.

also, aren't the hep vaccines fairley spaced out? i remember having the first round before my first trip, then not having the next one for another year ... just looked it up and hep A is 2 doses 6-18 mths apart, hep b is 3 doses 6 mths apart. so you don't have to spend all this $$ before your trip, and technically don't have to finish the rounds of hep vaccines if you are really worried about the cost. but personally i would finish them up.

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halah


Kenneth Cole

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The Vaccines are worth it! I got them all before my first trip to India. As for the malaria pills, I took them one trip but not the other.  I say better safe than sorry but I also wore 34% deet every day!

I hate that insurance won't pay for stuff like that, preventive care would be cheaper in the long run! 

If you can, get some antibiotics from the doc for stomach upsets just-in-case you catch a bug!

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