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Get checked, then
get packed
Making sure about vaccinations
for travelers
By MONROE
ROARK
mroark@TheCitizenNews.com
If you’re planning to go overseas, it might not be a bad idea to
visit downtown Fayetteville first.
The Fayette County Health Department has all the information you need
regarding vaccinations for travelers — probably more so than most
other municipalities. That’s because Fayette County has such a high
concentration of airline industry employees, military personnel and other
people who just love to travel the world and have the money to do it.
For travel to some parts of the world, certain vaccinations are required.
In other areas, they are recommended. Some of these shots have to be spaced
out at various intervals or require more than one dose.
“Some need more time to generate the antibodies needed to take effect,”
said Cynthia Grant, R.N., the head of the physical health office at the
Fayette County Health Department. A complete list of vaccinations, their
procedures and costs is listed at www.fayettecountyhealthdepartment.org.
Most of the vaccinations are done by appointment, which is recommended
because health experts can get information over the phone and advise patients
on when to come in. This is especially helpful to travelers, because they
might need their shots a month or more ahead of a trip.
Travel vaccines available at the health department include hepatitis A
and B, malaria, measles/rubella, polio, typhoid, yellow fever and mumps.
Costs vary; check the Web site.
Going to the health department for vaccines is usually easier than going
to your doctor’s office, and it is usually less expensive. Many doctors,
because they adminster these vaccines far less often, keep less on hand
and sometimes run out, Grant said.
Insurance will sometimes cover vaccines, and the health department prints
out a statement for patients to use in obtaining reimbursements.
In addition to travel vaccines, there are a few that local residents are
recommnded to have on a regular basis just to stay healthy at home. The
most popular one at this time of year is the flu vaccine.
The health department gets extremely busy in the fall, Grant said, as
folks come in for their annual flu shots. After giving about 3,500 flu
vaccines last year at this time, the department ordered 4,000 this year
in preparation for flu season.
With this and any other vaccine, patients are asked in advance about certain
allergies or conditions which might cause them to have a reaction. For
instance, people allergic to eggs are not given a flu vaccine, Grant said.
For more information on vaccines and other services provided by the Fayette
County Health Department, call 770-461-1178 ext. 5416 or visit www.fayettecountyhealthdepartment.org.
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