re: "vaccinations" for China

RedJohn

OK..having a tough time getting some straight talk on vaccinations for China.

The Tauck reps I've talked with will not offer any specific advice for fear of legal
consequences...yep, it's a lawsuit happy society that we now live in; really can't
say that I blame them even though I think they need to be more helpful in this
particular area. I'm sure they get this question frequently.

Those of you have been on this trip...did you get vaccinations before departing....
yes or no?

It's my understanding from reading several sites on google that China does NOT
requre proof of vaccinations for entry into the country...is this true?

The CDC website is very vague and not very helpful (in my humble opinion), therefore,
I reach out to those of you who have actually been on a trip to China with Tauck.
How did you handle "vaccinations?"

I've read stories of people who did not get vaccinations and had no problems, and, then
there are those who took all the shots and got sick as dogs anyway.

My wife and I are leaning toward NOT getting any vaccinations and rolling the dice..BUT..
we can be talked into doing so...your advice and counsel would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance...
RJ
P.S...we are just as fearful of getting sick from the shots themselves, much less what might
happen on the trip.

lovestravel

We toured China and Tibet with another company in 2007. Our itinerary, with the exception of Tibet, was almost identical to Tauck's. Occasionally, we were in the same hotels at the same time. No shots were recommended for us, so we took none. We had no problems whatsoever.

Ilene in Fla

We did not have any shots before our Tauck China trip in 2010, except our annual flu shot that we would have gotten anyway.

Just remember to always drink bottled water; but never buy it from a street vendor as they have been known to refill empty bottles with tap water and re-sell them.

Have a great trip!

btoohill

We traveled with Tauck to China in May 2010. I consulted my family dr. prior to the trip. He checked and said that no vaccinations were required for entry to China nor were there any special advisories regarding diseases, however he did bring my tetanus, typhoid, and hepatitis shots up to date. These are shots that are part of the regular protocol for healthy adults. During the trip we only drank water from bottles provided by either Tauck or the hotels, did not eat street vendor food, and ate heartily at all the meals including the restaurants we sought out ourselves when there were no meals planned by the tour. We had no problems at all and had a marvelous time. This is a trip of a lifetime.

Philly Girl

Hi RedJohn

We were advise to get A Polio Booster as there are several outbreaks of Polio in China.
Also we got Hepatitis A and B shots and we will take sea sick patches for the water portion of the trip.

Ofraza

I got all of the shots that were recommended. I figure it's better to be safe than sorry. I went to a company that specializes in travel medicine and they actually spent some time explaining the shots to me, why I might want to get it, and so on. I decided to get them all since I'm planning on traveling to places like India and Africa in the future where I will need them. Figured I'd get it over with.
(The company I went to is Passport Health. I think they're nation-wide.)