Just a thought...
Since I'm traveling to places I know little about (and have zero personal knowledge of), I'm doing a TON of research. I'm taking precautions (e.g. the Connect device) to ensure the trip lasts as long as I want it to and isn't cut short for something against which I could've taken precaution. With that in mind, I had a phone interview a month or so ago with Group Health's Travel Nurse service to find out what medications/shots/etc I should have on-board or at least in my kit. The nurse made some good observations and even told me about things that I probably won't encounter, but might want to prepare for—rabies, typhoid, polio, and more. Hell, I thought polio was erradicated in the 60's...
Yesterday (14 Oct) I went to get my shots and pick up my meds. YIKES! The four shots were a piece of cake—the administering nurse was very good and has a sense of humor, which is always preferred. The biggest shock was administered prior to the sticking... three shots (polio, rabies, Japanese encephalitis) cost $491! The flu shot was free. I tried to make the argument that, like the flu shot, these other three were preventative and should, therefore, be at no charge, but the person taking my money was not amused. There are two more rabies shots needed and a final Je. Quite a lot—until you figure what it would involve if I got even one of the diseases they're preventing.
Next we stopped at the pharmacy and coughed up additional $ for three prescriptions (oral typhoid vaccine, azithromycin (traveler's trots), and doxycycline (malaria). I was also supposed to pick up four EPI pens in case I get a bee/hornet/wasp/other bite, though when they told me that the price had gone from $30-something to $120-something each, I decided to wait until I can check the price around town and at the nearest Canadian pharmacy. It might be worth taking a drive...
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