How To Save Hundreds of Dollars on Travel Shots

With my leave date fast approaching and my savings growing so slowly, I’ve been looking hard at my budget and trying to find any savings I can. I had $300 budgeted for vaccinations, but a little research suggested that it might be even more expensive that that. Recent posts on the Lonely Planet Forums lamented a $160 bill for a single typhoid vaccination and $120 for a yellow fever stab. Another poster reported a $500 quote for “meningitis, typhoid booster, yellow fever, hep A booster, polio booster, and malaria pills” from a clinic, while others ran as high as $800+.



If people travel to Thailand and other countries to get hips, knees, and naughty bits replaced, surely I can find safe, inexpensive shots there.

My cheap-ass insurance covers very little in the way of travel immunizations, unless I’m traveling for work, so I was getting worried. Then I had a classic “Face, meet Palm” moment: if people travel to Thailand and other countries to get hips, knees, and naughty bits replaced, surely I can find safe, inexpensive shots there.

A little internet sleuthing led me to the Thai Red Cross Society where you can get inexpensive shots for tetanus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, meningitis, encephalitis, cholera, polio, and typhoid. That $160 typhoid shot? Less than $10 from the Red Cross. The hep A is the most expensive, at nearly $23 — outrageous! The difference in cost of just two shots will pay for nearly a week’s travel. Numerous hospitals and clinics offer similar services.

That $160 typhoid shot? Less than $10 from the Red Cross.

Now, obviously, there are limitations and downsides to this idea and this will not work for many travelers. Many shots take a fair amount of time to become effective or even require boosters a month or two after the first shot. If I were only spending a few weeks in Thailand, this wouldn’t really do me much good at all. For the long-term traveler, however, it works quite well. I’ll be in Thailand for at least 2 months and will most likely pass back through Bangkok for an onward flight. I’ll have plenty opportunities for follow-up shots.

You will all have to wait an extra month for my post on “How to Wrestle a Rabid Bear”.

Sorry — doctor’s orders.

I will be somewhat vulnerable at first — the typhoid shot, for example, needs about 10 days to be effective. But as a typical male who eats day-old pizza rescued from the couch cushions, I’m not that worried — I’ll just need to watch my intake of raw sewage and avoid those who don’t. Rabies injections don’t seem to be much help until after the second injection, so you will all have to wait an extra month for my post on “How to Wrestle a Rabid Bear”. This is actually a good thing, as it gives me more time to get in shape and practice my moves. (Bears are suckers for a left hook — scientific fact)