Travel Vaccinations

Electric

Hi,

My boyfriend and I are off to Cuba in September. We have to get travel vaccinations (specifically Hep A, Typhoid and Tetanus).

I checked with my GP and the TMB and they are both looking for €300 and €305 respectively :eek:

Does anyone know anywhere in Dublin that we can get these vaccinations for less than €300?

bringitdown

WTF? Are you sure.

I got a hell of a lot more than that in TMB at nowhere near the cost about 2 months ago.

There are combo shots : ADT (Dip/Tetanus) and Vivaxim (Hep A / Thyphoid)

Run rate at my GP was around €35 per shot, somewhat more for the combo shots - this is Belgrave Clinic, Ranelagh.

Needless to say I am not a doctor!

Electric

bringitdown wrote:

WTF? Are you sure.

I got a hell of a lot more than that in TMB at nowhere near the cost about 2 months ago.

There are combo shots : ADT (Dip/Tetanus) and Vivaxim (Hep A / Thyphoid)

Run rate at my GP was around €35 per shot, somewhat more for the combo shots - this is Belgrave Clinic, Ranelagh.

Needless to say I am not a doctor!

Sorry Bringitdown. I should specifically that it's €300 for two of us. €150 seems to be the going rate. Some people have suggested that we seek a discount cos the two of us need to be vaccinated and this could be done in the one go. But none of the doctors I have spoken to agree to this.

My aunt works in a doctors' surgery and she was going to look into getting the vaccinations and just get our doctor to admin them but they won't agree to that either. (We can't get them done in the surgery that my aunt works in cos time in an issue and we won't be able to get down there. Apparently the vaccines have to be taken 6 weeks before departure and we're going in 6 weeks next Tuesday)

bringitdown

Hmm €150 is more in the ballpark ... they will charge you for a consult even if you 'know' what you need ... sorry to say I would doubt you'd do too much better than that.

TMB do a group discount at 6+ I believe - so no luck there either but ... you should be able to get a GP to only charge for one consult ... seeing as it will be the same for both, but down to the 'niceness' of the GP I guess ... then just a question of vaccine cost.

Not familiar enough with Cuba to tell you what the real risks are ... but again best advice is from someone qualified.

Best of luck ...

Electric

bringitdown wrote:

Hmm €150 is more in the ballpark ... they will charge you for a consult even if you 'know' what you need ... sorry to say I would doubt you'd do too much better than that.

TMB do a group discount at 6+ I believe - so no luck there either but ... you should be able to get a GP to only charge for one consult ... seeing as it will be the same for both, but down to the 'niceness' of the GP I guess ... then just a question of vaccine cost.

Not familiar enough with Cuba to tell you what the real risks are ... but again best advice is from someone qualified.

Best of luck ...

There are some websites that say you don't need vaccinations (these include the Cuban embassy) but I don't think I'd take the chance.

It does seem likely now that we aren't going to find anywhere that does vaccines for less than €150. It just sucks to be handing over so much money so something that in many cases is vital. Though I suppose the cynical answer to that is that holidays aren't necessities : (

H2G2

Here’s another angle for you… I was able to order Hep A and Typhoid vax from my local pharmacy and get the nurse in the doctors practice to inject. Worked out a lot cheaper. That was 3 years ago, so maybe regulations have changes, but its worth a look.

littlesurfer

my occupational health department issue vaccines and i can order them from there and get a nurse to administer but then i am a nurse and so are most of my friends....so thats not a problem for me....the vaccines are no good if you cant find someone to give them to you!!!

littlesurfer

also if your a student your campus health centre will give them to you pretty cheap and theres a few city centre pharmacies that do 10% discount for students

Electric

Hey,

Thanks for that. We're not students so that option is out. I did look into getting the vaccines from a chemist and just getting a doctor to inject us, but any of the doctor's surgeries that I rang said that there was absolutely no way that they would do this. : (

lady_j

are you sure tentnus is necessary? If you've received it in the last ten years then you're still covered.

If you were going to get the vaccines and get the doctor to administer them, then you still have to pay a doctor fee of €40- €50 so I can't imagine it would work out cheaper that way. That option is only cheaper if you know a nurse who will administer them for free

Tbh €150 sounds about right for those vaccines in ireland

Electric

Don't think I've had a tetanus booster in the last ten years so probably should get it.

Flukey

You may be able to get some cap put on your expenses through the Drugs Payment Scheme. I've heard the figure is something around €85 though that may not cover vaccinations. It will help on any bills you have to pay for drugs you may have to take during the trip though. There are no income thresholds on it, so you would be eligible. Ask in your local pharmacist.

Electric

It would be great if I could claim some of that back. I know that you can claim medical expenses back on your taxes so if the Drugs Payment Scheme won't cover it that might.

Thanks Flukey!