Need shots to visit China?
Aug 1st, 2003, 08:51 AM
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Need shots to visit China?
I'm going on a tour with China Focus and I'm not being told I need any shots or malaria pills. Any opinions on this? Our stops are Beijing, Xi'an, Guilin, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Hangzhou and Shanghai and we're staying in nice hotels.
Also, we'll have an extra day on our own in Beijing and Hong Kong, and I was wondering if you'd recommend special that you'd say Don't Miss!
In Beijing, we already have scheduled:
The Wall, the Sacred Way to the Ming Tombs, a Peking duck dinner, Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Beijing Opera Performance, and the Temple of Heaven. We have an option of taking a boat ride on Lake Kunming, so if you know anything about this, let me know.
In Hong Kong we have scheduled:
city tour including Stanley Market, Repulse Bay, Aberdeen, and Victoria Peak.
Thanks!
Also, we'll have an extra day on our own in Beijing and Hong Kong, and I was wondering if you'd recommend special that you'd say Don't Miss!
In Beijing, we already have scheduled:
The Wall, the Sacred Way to the Ming Tombs, a Peking duck dinner, Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Beijing Opera Performance, and the Temple of Heaven. We have an option of taking a boat ride on Lake Kunming, so if you know anything about this, let me know.
In Hong Kong we have scheduled:
city tour including Stanley Market, Repulse Bay, Aberdeen, and Victoria Peak.
Thanks!
Aug 1st, 2003, 10:08 AM
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For going anywhere, you should make sure your routine vaccinations are up to date, including Hep A. The best website for travel medicine info is www.cdc.gov/travel
Just use the menu to get to China and read about vaccine recommendations.
Just use the menu to get to China and read about vaccine recommendations.
Aug 3rd, 2003, 09:38 AM
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Second Kathie on this. Get all your shots.
Better safe than sorry.
Get the whole shebang, whether the cdc site says you need it or not.
Hep A, B and sometimes C
Typhoid
Tetanus - Diphteria
Meningococcal
Flu shots
And, if so advised, others like the malaria pills
In your own medicine kit, besides your standard prescription pills (if any), carry some:
Imodium
Small bottle of Listerine (doubles as an antiseptic), only Listerine, not some other mouthwash
Bug spray - with a good amount of Deet in it
Some "After Bite", because you will not be using the bug spray all the time!
Tube of vaseline
Some kind of first aid/antibacterial cream along with various sizes of bandaids
Alka Seltzer, because these act faster than aspirin
Brush your teeth in bottled water. And don't open your mouth in the shower!
It's better to engage in overkill than to be sick. No fun, being sick.
Have a great trip!
Better safe than sorry.
Get the whole shebang, whether the cdc site says you need it or not.
Hep A, B and sometimes C
Typhoid
Tetanus - Diphteria
Meningococcal
Flu shots
And, if so advised, others like the malaria pills
In your own medicine kit, besides your standard prescription pills (if any), carry some:
Imodium
Small bottle of Listerine (doubles as an antiseptic), only Listerine, not some other mouthwash
Bug spray - with a good amount of Deet in it
Some "After Bite", because you will not be using the bug spray all the time!
Tube of vaseline
Some kind of first aid/antibacterial cream along with various sizes of bandaids
Alka Seltzer, because these act faster than aspirin
Brush your teeth in bottled water. And don't open your mouth in the shower!
It's better to engage in overkill than to be sick. No fun, being sick.
Have a great trip!
Aug 3rd, 2003, 10:46 AM
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You write: "Our stops are Beijing, Xi'an, Guilin, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Hangzhou and Shanghai and we're staying in nice hotels."
I don't think you will need malaria pills for this itinerary but do check out the CDC and WHO sites for yourself. I'm also not so sure you need the menginococcal and Hep C shots, but I do think you should be up to date with all your usual boosters plus add Hep A and B if you don't have them already.
As far as the boat ride on Lake Kunming at the Summer Palace, it's not such a big deal but is a restful way to get back to the side of the attraction where you entered without retracing your steps. It's included in some group tours but evidently not yours. I wouldn't think it's very expensive at all to buy a single ticket.
I don't think you will need malaria pills for this itinerary but do check out the CDC and WHO sites for yourself. I'm also not so sure you need the menginococcal and Hep C shots, but I do think you should be up to date with all your usual boosters plus add Hep A and B if you don't have them already.
As far as the boat ride on Lake Kunming at the Summer Palace, it's not such a big deal but is a restful way to get back to the side of the attraction where you entered without retracing your steps. It's included in some group tours but evidently not yours. I wouldn't think it's very expensive at all to buy a single ticket.
Aug 3rd, 2003, 05:05 PM
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Well, since there isn't yet a vaccine for Hep C, let me recommend that you not get anything labeled as such. Do read the cdc website. It will give you updates on any outbreaks. Last I heard there weren't any outbreaks of Meningococcal Meningitis in any of the areas where you are traveling. But those things change quickly, which is why you should always read the cdc website before you visit your travel medicine specialist.
Aug 4th, 2003, 09:29 AM
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Again, I repeat - load up on your shots.
It's better to be safe than sorry. Given the recent uproar on SARS, I wouldn't depend on local officials anywhere in the world to spot something, report it, the cdc picking it up and posting a warning on their site - by then, it might be too late to save your stomach, your nervous system, etc. Don't get me wrong, checking the cdc site is an excellent suggestion, but don't just stop there. Use your own common sense and err on the side of caution.
Getting or not gettng shots reminds me of the old nursery rhyme of how a kingdom was lost for lack of a horse. How much could some of these shots cost?
On the other hand, I've seen people get really sick and at least one colleague of mine who ate raw steak in Korea (a gourmet item) has had to pay for it the rest of his life with screwed up intestines.
Get the shots. Use caution and common sense when you are over there and "Live long and prosper!"
It's better to be safe than sorry. Given the recent uproar on SARS, I wouldn't depend on local officials anywhere in the world to spot something, report it, the cdc picking it up and posting a warning on their site - by then, it might be too late to save your stomach, your nervous system, etc. Don't get me wrong, checking the cdc site is an excellent suggestion, but don't just stop there. Use your own common sense and err on the side of caution.
Getting or not gettng shots reminds me of the old nursery rhyme of how a kingdom was lost for lack of a horse. How much could some of these shots cost?
On the other hand, I've seen people get really sick and at least one colleague of mine who ate raw steak in Korea (a gourmet item) has had to pay for it the rest of his life with screwed up intestines.
Get the shots. Use caution and common sense when you are over there and "Live long and prosper!"
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