Where can I get travel vaccinations free.

[newmama06]

hi all i am getting concern as myself my husband and 3yr old daughter are going on holiday to Egypt we tried to get the vaccination that we needed but my GP says the nurse who does the vaccination will be away from now and wont be back in time for our holiday which is 19 April. we were told we cant get the vaccination so they gave us the travel Health Clinic but they are charging us £65 for me and my husband and £57.75 for my daughter! i am really upset with my GP how can they not have a locum nurse to provide the service. so please help where can i get the vaccinaton and how can i get it...thanks

why rage because the nurse is having her hols?

is she not allowed? we advise 12 weeks notice to get all your vaccinations sorted. if you leave it until 3 weeks then your asking for trouble. what if you need a course of Hep? you shouldnt have left it so late - sorry but its your fault not your practice nurses!

No, I don't only go to Skegness, but places where extra jabs are needed, no thanks if it means the kids have to get them, too.

They can make decisions like that when they're old enough to do so.

If your GP's won't do it, then you'll have to pay - anywhere else will charge. You'll just have to pay if you want to go on holiday.

Showers of baby dust to you all!

It's a fair point, expat, although my view, which is probably ridiculous, is that terrorists tend not to blow up the same places twice?

Certain travel vaccinations are free at my GPs, in fact we moved a few months ago and they were also free where we lived previously in London. 3 weeks is a bit late to arrange them, you do still have time but you'll need them very very soon, Hep A is a course of 2 injections the 2nd is 6-12months after the first and that covers you for up to 10 years but you are covered after the 1st jab of course. (I was recently told it takes 2 weeks to work) For adults Hep A and Typhoid is given as 1 inj (but you'll still need the 2nd Hep A 6-12 months later)
Hep A and Typhoid are amongst the free ones and they are definitely needed for Egypt,
I've been a few times to Egypt with my LOs (now 3&6yrs) and am about to go again next week, Egypt is a great place to visit and April is the best time to go, the history and culture is well worth experiencing.

Expatinscotland, You are talking rubbish, Egypt is NOT full of terrorists, actually my DH is Egyptian! think you and your family lead a very sheltered life!

Regards to all

VicarInaTuTu i am not raging that the nurse is on holiday i am upset because they should have someone to cover her holiday and if u read my other msg i did stay she has been on holiday SINCE beginning but i was asking around before i posted advice on here. people pls read the nhs website u are meant to get the typhoid and hep A for free. i pay my bloody taxes so i should take up what is available to me and family.

yes - IF you give some reasonable notice to get them done. which you havnt. you will be too late for Hep if you need the full course.

rhiane: thanks so much i tried to sort it out before but as i said i couldnt do it before as the nurse was away and i didnt know what to do. i have Egyptian friend and she is the most loveliness person i met.people are just so narrow minded

VicarInaTuTu again when should i have give notice... i thought beginning of march was enough notice as i said the nurse who does the vac is away for month and a bit she wont get back till end april. do u understand now. i tried to sort it in march when they told me nurse was away they didnt specify until last wk that she wont be back till end april. dont know how else to explain

From the NHS website: "Not all vaccinations are free and your GP may charge for certain ones, although it will vary from surgery to surgery. Vaccinations including diphtheria, yellow fever, rabies, japanese encephalitis and hepatitis B will normally have to be paid for. Your GP may charge for these vaccines (including an administration fee) or refer you to a special travel clinic."

So, it's up to the GP.

Are all these cheap shots really necessary? The OP may have got her facts wrong, but so have others who think she's raging because her practise nurse has gone on holiday - she's annoyed because they haven't provided cover.
And she doesn't sound like an entitled Hun, to me she sounds as if English isn't her first language.
Why jug in with totally unnecessary, rude comments?

What is wrong with all you people, you obviously do not have the intelligence to be understanding, so I have no idea how you manage to care for you children. You are rude and uninteresting. What you seem to have to say is no help to a mother who has come on here to seek advice. I think this mother is thinking of her children.

I do not understand why people have an issue about receiving vaccinations for free when it is obviously a postcode lottery for treatment in the UK. I bet you wouldn't mind getting treatment like nicotine patches for free or pay the minimal amount for the prescription. GET A LIFE... WHAT SORT OF PEOPLE SAYS EGYPT IS FULL OF TERRORISTS???!!!!

I know who!! Uneducated idiots like the people who have written a load of boring

rubbish

PMSL @ this entire thread!

Well done, Helen, Carrie et al, you've created a monster.

OldLady: thanks for sticking up for me. english is actually my first language but im from jamaica so my english is different lol. anyway i saw your link but if u look at the 4th paragraph u will see that the vacc i need is provided for free( hep A and thyroid). all i needed was advice i didnt expect people to be so judgemental and attacking. anyway since my OP i have visited another GP around the corner from where i live i will be changing GP because my original GP as always been unprofessional. so this next GP will be giving me the Vac for FREE. i have appointment on MONDAY!

newmama - have a good holiday.

It is confusing - some GPs and areas do free travel vax, some don't.

Oh - look at that, a common MN abbreviation - vax for vaccinations - yes, on MN it happens to be considered polite not to write in textspeak, but it is OK to use other abbreviations, and it is, it seems, ok to be rude aggressive, judgemental, and snobbish in pointing out what is polite on MN.

Expat - tbh I think you are doing a good job of making up an unpleasant characteristic of the monster on this thread.

Good! Have a nice holiday.

And thanks for entertaining expat, who was evidently bored this evening

And before she says anything, its typhoid not thyroid. I kept saying 'meningitis' instead of 'hepatitis' to our nurse, realising only when she looked deeply puzzled, I'm a flipping PhD but we can all make mistakes

Can you get nicotine patches on the NHS?

I knew someone who kept smoking on nicotine patches and passed out due to nicotine overload/overdose. I thought he had a heart attack as he collapsed. Poor Jock.

thanks Grimma and Blu sure hope i do. i am new to all the abbreviation trying my best. i have a bad habbit of writing u instead of you when i am not doing academic or professional writing.typhoid, thyroid lol u ( sorry you) know what i mean

Oh, Blu, I love it when you wear your frustrated mod/headmistress hat, it's so endearing.

Newmama, Glad to see you managed to sort out your vaccinations, IMO you are wise to protect your family as Hepatitis A and Typhoid are dangerous, but both of these can be prevented by meticulous care with hand washing, sticking to bottled water, taking care with what you eat (many salad items are washed with tap water in Egypt so best avoid, don't eat things grown close to the ground unless they can be peeled, so no strawberrys etc) You do still have time for these vaccines to be effective, as stated before Hep A is 2 injections, the second being 6-12months after the first but you will have good protection after the first, having the second just means your protection is extended for 10 years (there is one that covers you for 25 years!) Hepatitis A is completely different to Hepatitis B (which is a course of injections and it can take time to be covered,it is not generally needed for holiday travel) so Gamma Globulin is not an option. (Hep B is mainly transmitted through contact with blood, other body fluid, sex etc, Hep A through ingestion so exact exposure time wouldn't be known, you just get ill maybe weeks later) Typhoid gives you up to 3 years protection. Have a wonderful time.
My family and I travel a lot and I certainly wouldn't take any chances, I always check we're up to date with vaccinations. I couldn't imagine not taking my LO's abroad just because I didn't want to vaccinate them!! My 6 year old is so excited about seeing the pyramids.

Expatinscotland, think you forgot to flame me!! oh and while I remember, you said you'd wait until your kids were old enough to decide for themselves about vaccines, did they have their baby immunisations? or maybe you're waiting for them to decide about that as well!

Interesting - I went to Egypt in Nov and my DD had her first birthday out there, and our GP advised us NOT to give her any vaccinations at her age, just to make sure she had bottled water and take various other (obvious) precautions. Myself and my DP were already up to date with ours.

We were all fine and had a wonderful time. And I, er, won't be avoiding taking my kids to interesting places as I view travel as a vital part of their education (but nor would I take any stupid risks). The FCO website is more than helpful on where to avoid. I think to dismiss Egypt as crawling with terrorists is a rather unusual viewpoint.

lol rhiane that's putting Expatinscotland in his place. cant believe someone can be like that. anyway Rhiane thanks for the advice much appreciated.my family only decided to go in february but have been busy working (paying my taxes so that i can get what i deserve on the NHS)but now thinks are looking good so hopefully we will have a fab time. do u think it is wise to get some tablets to put in our water/juices( just in case) i was told to avoid ice aswell.

thanks ladythompson thats why i really wanted to take the necessary precautions.