Ann’s been in charge of vaccinations and made us an appointment at the Adult Immunization and Travel Clinic near the Civic Center in downtown SF. Yelp reviews were great and our visit lived up to expectations. For $35 a piece, we sat down with an incredibly knowledgeable RN who talked us through what we’d need for each country. She had up to date maps of risk areas throughout the world and a great handout detailing the pros and cons of each possible vaccine.
In light of the fact that I hadn’t seen a doctor in 12 years and even then couldn’t remember any names other than my pediatrician (yes, I’ll be 38 in two weeks), we discussed various options for bringing everything up to date. Now, it’s up to us to figure out what we want to get and bring them a laundry list. Hep A is the only one that requires a six month lead time.
After the consultation, we’ll likely end up with:
- combined Hep A/B vaccine called Twinrix
- boost our Tetanus
- carry Chloroquine for Malaria areas in Central America and Doxycycline for South America and Africa
- bring a few courses of Cipro for bacterial infections
- try Diamox to lessen the effects of altitude
- likely get our first two rabies shots (harder to come by abroad and less needed if we’re exposed)
- Viagra (see upcoming birthday note above) – just making sure you’re still reading…