Vietnam Vaccinations

mark_jmc

Hi All,
travelling to Vietnam in August, will be going to HCMC, Hanoi, Halong Bay & Nha Trang.
I plan on getting HepA, Typhoid, Tetanus vaccinations- will this cover me?- I won't be going anywhere near the jungle etc!

Also can anyone in Cork recommend a place to get the above vaccinations and rough prices. i looked at tmb.ie and it looks like I could get them for €145 inc consulatation fee
Thanks in advance,
Mark

Gatica

Seems like you've done your research on the prices. We cannot give medical advice on Boards.
When you go into TMB, they'll tell you whether those vaccines are sufficient. Don't worry, they'll take your itinerary into account and won't push "jungle" jabs on you if you're only doing a city trip. Incidentally, their website has a section where you can select country/countries of travel and it'll give list of recommended vaccines. It may still be the "most" vaccines you can get, so a visit to their doctor will narrow it down to the basics.

toadfly

How far in advance should I get the jabs? Going end of August. TIA

Gatica

Usually as soon as possible, some vaccinations require a course to complete and may not provide full immunity. According to TMB, Hep A immunisation takes 2-4 weeks.
Also depends on whether they recommend you do any other vaccines, e.g. if you do the Hep A/B combo (as one of them is absorbed better as a joint vaccine) can take up to 6 month to complete...

toadfly

Ok thanks for that, I didn't realise. Will get onto that next week. Are places in and around the same price or should I shop around? I'm in Galway/Mayo.

Gatica

We are also in Galway, we went with TMB because it was cheapest we found. I checked prices at our own GP and another GP clinic in Galway that advertised themselves as travel specialists. I called them asking prices for a number of vaccines, TMB was cheapest.
You can always check prices yourself by calling your GP or others with the specific vaccines you have in mind. If you're travelling as a group, you get a cheaper per person consultation rate with TMB if you go in together. They also do 15% discount if you have VHI and book your appointment through them.

toadfly

Perfect thank you. Will make some calls but guess we have to decide if we are going trekking or not first. I'm going for surgery next month, must ask if that will have any effect.

Thanks again.

john kinsella

Hi mate,

I am also going to Vietnam in Aug and following virtually the same route as you.

I got my vaccinations done by my local GP today for €102.00 (In Dublin) got HepA, Typhoid, Tetanuis, Polio & Diphtheria.

It was only two shots which covered the whole lot.

GP didn't recommend anything else to me or malaria tablets as the areas I am going are not affected. (Hanoi, Hoi An, & Hoi Chi Minh.

Your travel path might be slightly different so just ask, my GP brought up this map of the world on her PC which had areas highlighted with what was needed in each.

mark_jmc

Thanks for all the info, really looking forward to the trip!

sarkozy

Get the jabs ASAP. Some might require a booster to get full cover, which sometimes need to be administered some weeks apart, though you can get an accelerated dose, though this isn't as effective.

You probably won't need a yellow fever jab, but some countries require it for visa entry, so just check that out with the Vietnam government/embassy website and/or TMB.

As people said, malaria vaccinations wouldn't be necessary for cities, but it may be no harm bring some Malerone with you.

If travelling to a tropical zone and going for surgery the following month, I might, therefore, consider taking a malaria prophylactic to ensure that you're totally clear of any parasites to avoid doubt/complications? That would probably be my thinking. Though, I probably wouldn't take Malerone unless visiting potential malarial zones, but I'd feel more comfortable having the option should I need the protection.