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CAustin !!0/l4G2gi9Cp
Hey /trv/, I'm going to be visiting China for about 2 weeks. I've got pretty much everything sorted out, but I've got some questions about the vaccines I might need to get before I go there. First of all, I currently don't have health insurance, which of course means that most medical-related stuff will be extremely expensive. However, I heard there were travel clinics or something that basically just give vaccines for people planning on going to other countries--would they still charge an arm and a leg for someone without insurance, or would I be able to just walk in, pay ~$25 for each shot and walk out?

Secondly, which shots should I get? I'm sure the people giving the shots have a giant list of what's recommended for China, but there's obviously a bit of a conflict of interest there since they get more money if they stick me with more needles. I assume the only ones I'll really need are hepatitis A/B and tuberculosis, but I might be wrong. I'll only be staying in Beijing, by the way, so I doubt I'll be exposed to anything outlandish.

Oh, and I heard the Chinese embassy in LA is crowded as fuck. Will I have to get there in the morning to even have a chance to speak to someone?
>> Anonymous
its a bit late to be thinking about that, son

how long are you going for? vaccinations usually have an incubation period before you are considered to be covered, and in the case of hep a/b you will need multiple shots. if you plan on doing any significant amount of travel, its worth getting them anyway

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/travel/asia/china.shtml

i assume since you are talking about insurance that you're an americanfag. i dont know what the costs will be for you. my country actually has a decent health care system, but it does not cover all of these items, and the hepa/b vaccine runs between $60-80 per shot, and you need 3-4. you can take it at 1,3,6 months, or 1,2,3 weeks then 12 months. you should take the second option since its so close. that way you have a chance of getting the titres high enough for it to work. you definitely should get this one anyway - while its not a legal requirement, you do NOT want hepatitis.

diphtheria comes combined with tetanus and pertussis, and is fairly cheap. get this one.

it's too late for TB, however you might want to get it, especially if you're traveling to any civilised countries any time soon. you probably want typhoid as well. the rabies vaccine is very expensive, but is also effective as a treatment if you get bitten by any animals, so you can just get it if you need it. the encephalitices are expensive and very rare - you probably dont need them but check the region you are going to.

you should get the yellow fever one too, but its probably not necessary. be warned that you might also catch yellow fever from the girls there ;)

i know people who regularly travel through indochina and have never had any vaccines. i wouldnt reccommend this, however, as it really is asking for trouble.

one last thing, make sure you get travel insurance. where in china are you going, and for how long?

tl;dr its late but get hepa/b and dtp. typhoid and yellow fever (and even TB) if you want to be safe
>> Anonymous
if you're just sticking to the major cities (beijing, shanghai, touristy parts of the great wall), I wouldn't even worry about it if i were you. I didn't, and I'm fine. It's only when you get off the beaten track that you'll need to worry.