Guide to Travel Vaccines
In the age of COVID, we have to put more thought into protecting ourselves and the people around us from preventable diseases. For frequent travelers, that means staying up on your shots. I hope this guide to travel vaccines helps clear the air about the different shots you need, how to get them, and what to expect after you do.
Personally, I’m a big fan of vaccines. That didn’t used to be a controversial statement. I try to stay up on all my shots simply because I hate being sick. And I get sick a lot (like, a lot). Man flu hits me like a bus, and even a common cold can put me on my butt for days. Knowing that, you can imagine I’ll do whatever it takes to avoid picking up anything more serious.
If you consider yourself anti-vax or whatever, then this isn’t for you. But before you take off, just know that some travel vaccines aren’t voluntary, and if you want to travel, it behooves you to rethink your position on travel vaccines.
Just think about it, okay? You know where to find me.
WHY SHOULD I GET TRAVEL VACCINES?
TL;DR: Because they work.
When you travel outside your normal community, you expose yourself to a myriad of germs and bacteria that your body just isn’t used to. I mean, it’s as simple as that.
Generally, we (as in non-expert laypeople) classify illnesses based on their symptoms. We call something a cold when we feel rundown with a sore throat, stuffy nose, and a cough. We know we have a flu when we wake up with body aches and an upset stomach. But there are literally thousands of viruses that cause those symptoms, and most people only get exposed to a handful in our lifetimes.
When you travel extensively, however, that changes. While your body may have an immunity to some of the viruses that cause flu-like symptoms in your area, your body has no idea how to fight against viruses it has never seen before.
Fun fact: There are over 200 virus strains that cause the common cold.
Fortunately, for many more serious illnesses, doctors and scientists have developed these things called vaccines that allow our bodies to fight them.
But vaccines only work if you get them.
DO I REALLY NEED THEM?
You know your body best. Speaking for myself, I know that I more than likely will get sick if I stay in a new place for too long. I have traveled for the last nine months, spending about a month in each country. I have gotten sick Every. Single. Month.
If you have an immune system that runs on fumes–like mine does–then you should seriously consider getting every shot available. At the very least, immunizing yourself against one illness will protect you from others.
Let me give you an example, when I came down with COVID, my immune system was already out-of-whack on account of the three ribs I had broken two weeks earlier. It took a long time to recover, and when the symptoms of the virus started to subside, I came down with a nasty case of pneumonia–pneumonia that I would have avoided had I not gotten COVID in the first place.
So if you’re on the fence about whether you should get non-mandatory travel vaccines, take a look at your own health and determine whether you can afford the risk of getting sick.
MANDATORY VERSUS RECOMMENDED TRAVEL VACCINES
Some places require certain immunizations for travelers. They do this to protect their own citizens. If you want to travel to any of these places, you have to get the required travel vaccines.
Fortunately, this generally only applies to the COVID vaccine, and even then many countries are moving away from making full immunization mandatory for entry.
Only very recently have countries stopped requiring a negative test and proof of full vaccinations; however, some still do, and with new variants being identified every few months, these requirements can change.
I should have mentioned this earlier, but as with all of my travel tips, it’s important for you to verify them with your own research (research that doesn’t come from a blog…even mine).
Many countries have a recommended list of travel vaccines that all foreigners should get up-to-date on before traveling there. This list includes the Greatest Hits (stuff like measles, the flu, et cetera), but it can also include vaccines against more regionally-specific illnesses like yellow fever and malaria.
STAY UP ON YOUR ROUTINE SHOTS
Routine vaccines are the ones you likely took as a kid so that you could go to school. They are the most basic and common vaccines, and a full dose can protect you for several years. At the very least, you should make sure you stay up on these. I’ve listed the most common routine shots below:
- COVID-19*
- Chickenpox (varicella)
- Hepatitis A & B
- HPV (human papillomavirus)
- Influenza
- MMR (measles, mumps, rubella)
- Meningococcal
- Pneumococcal
- Polio
- Rotavirus
- Tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis
- Shingles (Zoster)
*The CDC recommends sticking with Moderna, Pfizer, or Johnson & Johnson. But note that Team JJ may need to supplement their vaccination proof with a negative COVID test. I only know this because my buddy got stopped at the airport on our way from Mexico to Spain and had to get a test in addition to his up-to-date JJ vaccine.
If you don’t remember your vaccination status, then you’re probably due for a new round of shots. Check with your doctor or pharmacist to see if you need to re-up your immunizations.
CHECK THE CDC’S DESTINATION PAGE FOR COUNTRY-SPECIFIC VACCINE RECOMMENDATIONS
This is a great tool for getting a no-nonsense list of recommended travel vaccines by country. The CDC works with the U.S. Department of State and foreign governments to compile lists of regionally-specific illnesses.
On the home page, you will find a drop-down menu of every country. Selecting one will navigate you to a page specifically made for that country. Let’s use Vietnam as an example:
As you can see, the page includes travel health notices, recommended travel vaccines, and tips for avoiding non-vaccine-preventable diseases. The top of the page also includes updated COVID-related advisories.
Reading further down the page, the CDC also generates a recommended packing list of health-related items, including diarrhea medication because the water is straight-up poison and bug spray because the mosquitos practically block out the sun.
The CDC updates these pages regularly for each country, and I recommend you add it to your list of helpful resources while you plan your next overseas vacation.
GETTING YOUR TRAVEL VACCINES
Many pharmacies and doctor’s offices will help you get up-to-date on your travel vaccines. You really only have to take a proactive decision and get it done.
MAKE THE APPOINTMENT AHEAD OF TIME
Don’t wait to get your vaccines. You should make an appointment to get your shots 4–6 weeks in advance. Not only will this keep you from scrambling just before your trip, but it will give the medicine time to infiltrate your immune system.
Remember: These things don’t work right away. Your body needs time to build up an immunity, and that could take anywhere from a couple of days to several weeks. While vaccination requirements generally won’t include a timeframe for when you had your last dose, you want to protect yourself as much as possible.
We easily forget that vaccine guidelines are not just arbitrary rules to be followed. They are real preventative measures used to protect you and the people around you from dangerous illnesses. Even if you have a great immune system, one that not even the worst case of COVID could take down, the people around you may not.
To reiterate, get your shots 4–6 weeks before traveling.
STORY TIME
I had to come home after getting robbed in South Africa (I’ll write that blog post later). Fortunately, the thieves did not get my passport. Unfortunately, they got my wallet, which had my COVID vaccine card inside of it.
To get home, I had to make a last-minute appointment at the local pharmacy to get another booster. Various scheduling and logistic issues with the pharmacy kept me from getting the shot until the morning before my flight.
Long story short, I got my shot 12 hours before the start of my 28-hour journey home to the Pacific Northwest. I reacted to the booster–like so many of us did–and felt positively miserable for half of my journey: flu symptoms, body aches, chills, the whole shebang.
Don’t do what I did. Extenuating circumstances notwithstanding, do your best to get your travel vaccines well ahead of time so that you don’t suffer through any kind of reaction while crammed into a coach seat on a 12-hour flight.
Now, there are some things that you cannot simply take a picture of, such as your passport. However, there’s a lot of stuff that you can (and should!). Vaccine cards should go to the top of that list.
I’ve had to show proof of COVID vaccination countless times over the last year of traveling, and I cannot remember a time where someone wouldn’t accept a picture of my COVID card. I have friends who report similar experiences.
Just take a picture of your card (front and back) and make sure you have a valid form of ID to verify your identity.
I’ll talk about this below, but make sure you back up those pictures while you’re at it.
MAKE COPIES OF YOUR VACCINATION CERTIFICATES
If my experience in South Africa taught me anything, it’s to back up everything. Although I couldn’t avoid getting robbed, I could have avoided getting locked out of my iCloud account where all my files and pictures lived.
Random Tip: Remember your stupid passwords.
Since most airports would have accepted a picture of my COVID card, I could have made it home without getting the additional booster. But because I did not back up my files and pictures elsewhere, I had no proof that I actually got the jab in the first place.
Personally, I like to keep everything on Google Drive. The first thing I did when I got home was ensure everything else was moved to my Google account. Now, even if my phone or computer gets lost or stolen, I can use any device to pull up my important documentation. You should do the same.
There are many cloud-based services you can use. I recommend Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive. But you do you, man.
ONE LAST THING…
Talk to your pharmacist about other preventative health measures that you can take. For instance, while the tap water in a particular city might not kill you, per se, the new bacteria and gunk in it can shock your immune system and make you sick. And food/water poisoning stinks.
My pharmacist had traveled a lot himself and did not hesitate to give me a ten-day supply of antibiotics to use in case of food/water poisoning. Additionally, I picked up some over-the-counter antibiotic cream for the cuts and scrapes my exceptionally accident-prone body would surely need.
To sum all of this up…
- Get your shots;
- Upload your health forms into the cloud;
- Take pictures of your health documents and IDs; and
- Keep an eye out for ways to prevent illness/injury during your trip.
OK for now.
~CS
