Make sure you are up to date on your routine vaccines such as MMR, Polio, Meningitis, Varicella, TDAP, and Influenza. Travel specific vaccines (often not covered by health insurance) are listed below.
Hep A:
protects against contaminated food and water.
- 2 doses, 6 months apart
- good for 10 years
Hep B:
protects against blood and body fluids. Most medical workers and this with high risk sexual activity will
- 3 doses, given at 1, 2, 6 months
- good for 20 years
Typhoid:
protects against contaminated food and water. The oral pills will last 5 years, but are a live vaccine meaning you can have side effects from them such as fever, chills, weakness
- 1 dose lasts for 2 years
Yellow Fever:
protects against yellow fever, which is transmitted by insect bites. Only needed if traveling to parts of Africa and South America, will be required to show documentation of vaccine when entering/ leaving the country. Is a live vaccine meaning some will have flu like side effects such as fever, chills, weakness.
- 1 dose, good for 10 years
Japanese Encephalitis:
protects against JE, which is transmitted by insect bites. Only needed if you are traveling to Asia
- 3 doses, good for 1 year
Rabivert:
protects against rabies from animal bites, however if you are bitten you will still need 3 more doses within 24hours to be effective. Only get if you are at high risk of animal bites
- prophylaxis is 3 doses, at days 0, 7, and 21 or 28
- post exposure with prophylaxis; given at 0, 3, 7, and 14
- post exposure without prophylaxis: given at 0, 3, 7, and 14 along with human rabies immune globulin (HRIG) on the first day of exposure
