I am travelling from Mexico to SA. The following is a list of vaccines recommended by the Center for Disease Control for travel to many of the countries I plan to visit, which I don't currently have: Yellow Fever (required in a couple of SA countries), Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B, Tetanus Booster (it's been a while), Typhoid, and Rabies.

Questions:
1. When you got your vaccines, did you do it through your primary care phyisician or through a travel clinic? The travel clinic here is $35 more just for the appointment, but my PCP might not have everything. I'm concerned the travel clinic will be much more expensive. Who do I need to actually book an appointment with?

2. Do I need Hep B if I will not be engaging in sexual activity with random people? I am travelling with my partner.

3. How much should this cost, approximately? Should insurance cover some of it?

4. The ones I've listed are reccommended, which ones do I REALLY need vs. can live without? I do plan to do some trekking and do plan to travel in some rural areas. I know I need Hep A.

You should be able to all of those from your GP besides the Yellow Fever. From my understanding, doctors need some sort of special permission or licensing or something to give the yellow fever and to provide the card that shows proof of the vaccination.

I was at the travel clinic here in texas a couple of weeks ago just to get the yellow fever vaccine. The entire visit and shot was $150 which I thought was pricey...but oh well.

The good news is that the shot was one of the least painful that I've had. We also got to see this great "travel health" video that was filmed sometime around 1982 which was the most entertaining movie I've seen in a long time. It was all mustaches and huge leather luggage.

Just a quick note on Hep A/B - they often come as a cocktail and and it isn't one visit but 3 to get the real benefit of being vaccinated. They're really common vaccinations and should be reasonable. Although you may not be engaging in sexual activity with random people, you also might come in to contact with blood or other bodily fluids that might transmit it. It's worth getting. When I was in the office the nurse did mine, and then went and checked her own history and gave herself a booster. Tetanus is common sense. You would probably be due for it even if you weren't traveling, right?

PC