Last week Shanley and I scheduled our appointment with the nurse at Travelers' Health Service, which happens to be a part of the clinic I currently work for. Linda, our travel nurse, was very patient with all of our questions and even obliged in letting us take pictures :)
Fortunately, the vaccine requirements for South Africa are not as cumbersome as they have been in past years. Things like Yellow Fever, Cholera and Polio are no longer required. Plus, I already had the seasonal and H1N1 vaccines this year. Bottom line, I only needed three shots: Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B and a new Tetnus/Tdap (I was due for it anyway)! For the most part, everything was pain-free and smiles for the camera, until...
My dear Mother failed to mention that as a child I was physically intolerable to Tetnus shots. Unfortunately, I have not yet out-grown that sensitivity, because I was miserably sick the next day!
Almost a clean bill of health for travel - here's what's left: 2 more rounds of Hep B and 1 more round of Hep A shots, 4 Thyphoid vaccine pills, and malaria medicine for our safari. Oh, and antibiotics in case we encounter travelers diarrhea, iodine tablets for our water, DEET and permethrin for our clothes, and lots of immodium (just in case)!
