Get travel vaccines to protect yourself before traveling internationally

Vaccines are recommended to protect travelers from illnesses present in other parts of the world and to prevent importing infectious diseases across international borders. The vaccinations you need depends on a number of factors, including your destination, whether you will be spending time in rural areas, the season of the year you are traveling, your age, health status, and previous immunizations.

 Here are some tips if you plan to travel anywhere requiring vaccinations in the near future: 

• Call the Sedgwick County Division of Health (SCDOH) or go to www.cdc.gov/travel/destinations to learn about which vaccines are required and which are recommended for travel to your destinations. 

• Plan to get your vaccinations several weeks to a few months before you travel.  Vaccines require two weeks or more in the body to reach full strength.  

• SCDOH offers the following travel vaccines, as well as other vaccines you may need for travel. Additional travel vaccines may be obtained at local chain and other pharmacies.
• Rabies-- $ 279.88
• Typhoid (Oral)--$ 74.89
• Typhoid (Injection)-- $ 121.85
• Yellow Fever--$ 182.02 (currently unavailable) 

Sanofi Pasteur, the manufacturer of the only yellow fever vaccine (YF-Vax) licensed in the United States, announced that YF-Vax will be unavailable until mid-2018 due to delays in production. 

SCDOH offers other vaccinations that are not specifically for travel, but may also be recommended for travel, such as vaccines for hepatitis A and B, polio, and meningitis. Traveling or not, it is important for all children and adults to be up to date on their vaccinations to protect themselves and those around them.  

All vaccinations at the SCDOH main clinic (2716 W. Central) are offered on a walk-in basis. Please call the SCDOH at 316-660-7300 or your healthcare provider for more information on immunizations.