Immunizations
- Kelly
- Mar 31, 2015
- 2 min read
The CDC recommends Hepatitis A and B, Typhoid, Yellow Fever (for Panama) and in some cases, Rabies. Here is how we handled them.
Hep A and B
These are covered with our medical insurance Most insurance plans cover both, you just have to ask for them. Hep B is three shots over a six month period. Hep A is two shots over six months. Cost - $15 co pay per shot.
Typhoid
Typhoid can be given in a shot and last 2 years. There is now an oral version of this immunization, it is called Vivotif and lasts for 5 years. We opted for the oral vaccine. It is a series of 4 pills taken every other day for eight days. We read about the medical trials for this vaccine and it was tested on 6 million people with only one severe reaction. James had a severe reaction to the shot when he was three years old. So, we filled his prescription and he went into the doctor's office. He took his first pill in the office and they monitored him for several hours. No problems. Cost $42 at Costco. Call around and check prices, because I got prices as high as $128.
Yellow Fever
We opted not to get this vaccine. It is only needed if you go south of Panama City into the Darien Gap area. We did not intend to go that far south. Plus, we asked a friend who lives in Panama, and she only recently got the vaccine. She also told us it was widely available for $10-$20 in Panama, so if we got that far south we would get it there. There were only two places in Pima County to get this vacine - Passport Health and the county Health Department. Cost - $130
Rabies
This vaccine is recommended for small children. Mostly because dogs in other countries are not pets, and kids tend to treat strays as pets. This vaccine is $275 a shot and you need three shots. For the three of us that would cost $2475, so opted not to get these shots. If any of us get bit by an animal we will beeline for a State Department recommended health facility and get the shots after the fact. You can start the shots up to 24 hours after exposure.
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