Immunizations
We already have yellow fever, hep A & B.
Just wondering if other travlers have taken typhoid and meningitis for this trip?
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We already have yellow fever, hep A & B.
Just wondering if other travlers have taken typhoid and meningitis for this trip?
Comments
I took Malaria on both safari trips- Typhoid only on my first K&T and had my Tdap current for both.
Is yellow fever vaccine necessary?
Yes, if you don’t want to be refused entry for not having the vaccine at the borders. We were asked to show our yellow fever vaccine card when traveling into Botswana on this tour.
When did you travel there?
I was there pre-Covid in 7/2019 and I need to show my yellow fever vaccine card. I was directed into the airport to retrieve my luggage— People in front of me didn’t not have a vaccine card and were escorted to another location.
Been to Botswana a couple of times, most recently November, nothing has changed, yellow fever vaccine still required if you are entering from a country that has endemic yellow fever….that is, not the US but the country you have just come from.
While this is not exactly on point, here's the list of countries that South Africa considers to have "risk of yellow fever transmission." If you come from one of these, into South Africa, you need yellow fever documentation.
https://www.sahc.org.au/yellow-fever.htm
However... I recently entered South Africa after visiting Senegal, The Gambia, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Togo, all of which are on their list and they never even mentioned Yellow Fever at passport control.
It is unclear to me if you need yellow fever proof of vaccination ( or letter stating medical exclusion ) for entry into Botswana from Zimbabwe. You need it if you are entering from Zambia because areas of Zambia have yellow fever ( not areas of Tauck tours). The cdc website, among others, states that yellow fever does not occur in Zimbabwe. So….. one should therefore not need proof of vaccination to enter Botswana from Zimbabwe. Please - anyone who actually knows the facts and has gone from Zimbabwe to Botswana share your knowledge and experiences. When entering from Zambia it is absolutely required. For this tour we are entering Botswana from Zimbabwe. Thx.
Just returned from Passport Health (travel immunization specialists) and got the low down on this straight from the horse's mouth. Technically, going from Zimbabwe into Botswana does not require proof of yellow fever vaccination or a vaccination waiver. Zimbabwe, and Botswana are not areas where yellow fever is endemic. Neither is South Africa. So, technically, one should be able to go in between these three countries without a YF vaccine or waiver. Big HOWEVER....The question is, how did you get to Zimbabwe.... If you travel on Ethiopian Air to Victoria Falls and go through Addis Ababa airport in Ethiopia, a country where YF is endemic (and Addis Ababa is in the middle of the affected zone), you need proof of vaccine. Many countries have an exception for transport ( eg if less than 12 hours in the airport of a country where YF is endemic). Botswana does NOT have that timed exception in it's immunization requirements. Of course, one may think, how will a border agent in Botswana know that you have been through Addis Ababa if they don;t stamp your passport in Ethiopia. The answer to that - I have no idea. As for the vaccination waiver - we both thought this would be a piece of cake since we are both over 60. According to the passport health person we saw (nurse), this is dictated by the WHO and if you do not fit into one of the strict waiver categories, then they will not give you a stamped waiver. The waiver is an official form that requires an explanation for the waiver, the signature of the health care professional, and the official stamp of the health care organization that is responsible for administering vaccines. Waivers can be granted for immuno-suppression from various causes, history of acute hypersensitivy to vaccine or components of YF vaccine, and infants < 6 mos. There are numerous precautions, for example being over 6o years of age, but it was apparent that this guy we saw was not going to budge on this. I have no idea how much wiggle room there is. To me it seems ridiculous to have to get a vaccine because we passed through an airport, but I guess that is the way it is.... to go to Botswana anyway. As we said previously, going to Botswana from Zambia you do need the vaccine or waiver, because there are ares of Zambia that have YF. Trying to look on the bright side here.... so many other places we can go after we get the YF vaccines.
Thank you MotherofPoodles. My argument has always been that if people intend to go to other exotic places, they should consider the vaccine. We have certainly been to several counties we though would never have been on our radar that require it. As I understand it, the waiver has to be a new one every time you travel to a different location that requires proof. Of course you may never be asked to show the certificate or letter but it certainly reduces worry. Think you had an excellent nurse to advise you.
@MotherOfPoodles - We went to Costco. They have a travel immunization program - https://www.costco.com/full-service-travel-medicine-consultation-program*,-by-safegard.product.100123081.html
You fill out an online form and it's reviewed by a doctor. We’re in an older group and the recommendation was that we not get the Yellow Fever vaccine. They provided us with a very good waiver letter and a yellow booklet filled out with waiver. Absolutely no problems in any country. They claim they've never had a waiver refused.
We used the same waiver in every country. I don't see why you would need a new one every time if the reason for not getting the vaccine is your age. That's not going to change.
It’s $40 per person, and I highly recommend them.
Costco as far as I know is not a designated Site for Yellow fever vaccines.
Mike, have you ever been asked to show your waiver?
@British - Yes, Costco can give yellow fever vaccinations. At least here, in southern California.
[Added note: If you go to the link I provided above, you'll see - third bullet down - that they provide Yellow Fever vaccinations. It "says "Yellow fever vaccine is NOW AVAILABLE" so I assume that's for all their pharmacies.]
[Yes, we had to show our waiver. But South Africa did not ask for it.]
The service for travel advice for Costco surprisingly got lots of bad reviews. They don’t offer it in our state. I was always under the impression that Yellow fever vaccine is only given in relatively few designated locations in the country, who knew!
We decided to try the Costco service as well - it is worthwhile for this and future travels to see how it works. We have it our state ( MD) . In our region it is also available in Delaware and VA. It is $40 per person, and it is all online. I will report back how much the vaccines cost. At Passport health, the initial consultation for the both of us was $175 ( total). The yellow fever vaccines were $394 each. Pretty pricey endeavor. They also tried to sell us non prescription meds to prevent travelers diarrhea ( made of cow colostrum) and non- prescription meds for travelers diarrhea . We travel with antibiotics and are religious about “bottled water only “ in exotic locales , so that was a ‘no thank you”. He did discuss all of the mosquito - borne diseases in the region, offered a malarone prescription , went over mosquito bite prevention techniques ( I am a mosquito magnet, so that was good, although people have posted about all of it online here) . He showed us very detailed maps of where yellow fever is endemic and the entrance requirements for every country we were interested in visiting in our future travels. Before we went we were not able to get a clear handle on requirements for entrance to Botswana from Zimbabwe and did not even consider transport airports ( we will only be in Addis Ababa for 1.25 hours). For us , we absolutely got the information we needed that I could not find online about vaccine requirements. He went over every vaccine we both have had in the past, and what other vaccines would be prudent for this trip ( eg rabies, polio) . He spent about 45 minutes with us. We went in looking for a waiver and came out with useful information, but no waivers. Our trip is in September so we have time to get the YF vaccines . I came out of there thinking traveling is absolutely not for the faint of heart, or for anyone short of cash or patience.
Thank you so much MOP. I’ve heard people being given the cow colostrum meds from here before, really alarming! We have not been to Passport Health for years, while partially helpful, they tried to sell us very expensive unnecessary drugs and charged us for each individual malaria pills, it was expensively . Our family dr will give us a script for that anytime we want, the same with antibiotics, he knows we travel a lot. The other thing was at Passport Health that the person we had had never traveled out of the US, so was not knowledgeable about what it is like on the ground in the exotic countries. I, going to look at the NHS site and if it is more useful, I will post a link.
Here is a link to Fit for Travel. It is a very user friendly site and explains everything about yellow fever with PDF downloads etc. Far superior to the CDC website.
https://www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/home
I got my yellow fever shot at Costco. It was $182 for members. Not sure the cost for non-members. My physician sent over the "prescription" for it. If you can't get a prescription for it, then it's $40 for their doctor to prescribe it.
Costco - EEZEE PEEZEE. For $40 each . Their travel immunization program, done by Safe Gard is all online. There is a very detailed questionnaire for medical history, medications, allergic reactions, travel itinerary, etc. Within under 48 hrs of completion we received detailed recommendations for travel and a waiver for the yellow fever vaccine. (After a long discussion with our own internist, that was what we decided was best for us and what we were hoping to get.) There are instructions for making an appointment at the Costco pharmacy and a number to call the pharmacist that deals with the travel immunization program. She gave us scripts for travelers diarrhea and malaria prophylaxis as well. For the both of us the meds were $15. We picked up the stamped waivers and the meds today. Two happy customers. Not all states have this service available.
https://www.costco.com/full-service-travel-medicine-consultation-program*,-by-safegard.product.100123081.html
Thank you Mike Henderson for the info on this service.