Shots and Tibet

Me and two other JETs have been planning a China/Tibet trip for August for a couple of months now. And just our luck, it's looking like it may not be the smartest of ideas anymore. It seems protests are extending out of Tibet into western China (which was our back-up plan), and I definitely don't want to be around eastern part during the Olympics. I assume it will be way too expensive.

But in order to prepare for this awesome trip that I'm no longer going on, I went and got my tetanus shot last week. According to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, America recommends you get shots for tetanus, Hepatitis A and B, Typhoid, Rabies, and Japanese encephalitis. And don't forget the malaria pills.

When I handed my shot record to the doctor, he stares at it and says, "Why do you need a tetanus shot? You've had six of them." I point out that the first four were when I was under a year old, and the other two were at 5 years old and 13 years old. Therefore, I need another one because I'm suppose to get one every 10 years. I guess Japan doesn't do that, cause he gave me a look and said, "Well, I can give it to you if you want it." Well, of course I didn't want it, I only felt like I needed it. So I told him I'm going to China for hiking and camping, and he says, "Ok, then it's probably a good idea."

I then ask him about the other shots that America recommends, and he, of course, told me I don't need them, but I can get them if I want to. He just said don't eat raw food and avoid the water. In short, play it smart and I'll be fine. I don't know how much the vaccines would cost me here, but if I was in America, and I planned to go to China and get all my vaccines, the bill would run me $480 (if I was a student at UPenn. It was the only list I could find.)

So I think I would choose to just play it smart, but since I'm not going anymore, it doesn't matter. The trip is on hold for next August.