She Said: Shots...Round 1

That's right folks, you read correctly, round 1. After weeks of trying to gather immunization records from the various places Brian and I have lived, I arrived at FSI to find out just exactly what I needed before we head out. A recommendation for any of you who are thinking you may want to go overseas at some point in your life.......KEEP YOUR IMMUNIZATIONS UP TO DATE. As the nurse reviewed my most recent records (from graduate school, so can't blame mom for this), she slowly read off the shots I should have had up to date, but did not. Tetanus booster (needed in 2006) and Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B series vaccinations that I started while I was in college, but never went back to complete. This means that in addition to the strange vaccines I have to get for going overseas (Typhoid Fever, Yellow Fever, Rabies Series), I also have to get a tetanus booster and complete the hepatitis A and B series. Those of you who know me also know that I hate shots, so this was not good news for me.

In any case, I got my first round today and have to go back for another round in a week or so and then once more before we head out to Venezuela. I found it interesting to hear from the nurse that yellow fever vaccine is in short supply right now. I will actually have to go to a private clinic to get that one before we leave and she recommended a regular flu shot.

So, 3 shots today, next week I'll have another 3, another 2 before we leave for Venezuela, a flu shot at the local pharmacy and a yellow fever shot at the travel clinic. 10 shots before we go and one Hepatitis B in March once we're at post to complete the series. This is one part of traveling that I do not enjoy. Looking forward to a happier blog post next time around.