The CDC considers Czech Republic and Hungary part of eastern Europe. They recommend a whole series of shots to travel to Eastern Europe, the cost of which is in the hundreds of dollars. Do I need to get these shots if I stay in Prague, Budapest and the major "tourist" sites?

Like what shots? Yellow fever? typhoid? I went to Prague and didn't need shots and I can't think of any that you do need. Hubby is a doctor so I guess he would know. Perhaps it is the ignorance of whatever the CDC is that makes it think these countries are third world.

I agree. These are civilised European countries with effective health systems, so I really can't see what they're talking about. The Black Death was quite a while ago now...

JT, perhaps you are misreading the CD site. They seem to be recommending only a few immunizations, some of which you should have anyway. Here's the text from http://www.cdc.gov/travel/easteurp.htm<BR><BR>CDC recommends the following vaccines (as appropriate for age):. . . <BR><BR>* Hepatitis A or immune globulin (IG).<BR>* Hepatitis B, if you might be exposed to blood (for example, health-care workers), have sexual contact with the local population, stay longer than 6 months, or be exposed through medical treatment.<BR>* Rabies, if you might be exposed to wild or domestic animals through your work or recreation.<BR>* Typhoid, particularly if you are visiting developing countries in this region.<BR>* As needed, booster doses for tetanus-diphtheria, measles, and a one-time dose of polio vaccine for adults. Hepatitis B vaccine is now recommended for all infants and for 11– to 12-year-olds who did not receive the series as infants.<BR><BR>(Please note that government documents are not copyrighted, so this is not a violation of Fodor's no-cut-and-paste rule.)<BR><BR>So after reading the details, all you really need is Hep A and typhoid and perhaps boosters for tetanus etc. You could get away without the typhoid if you stay in urban areas (i.e., municipal water systems). I don't see how this would come to hundreds of dollars, especially since most health insurance covers the boosters you'd need in the US anyway (e.g., tetanus).<BR><BR>JDW and kate, the CDC is a world-renowned US government agency charged with protecting our health and is right on top of worldwide disease incidences, for instance spearheading Ebola response and research in collaboration with WHO. They probably know more about inernational disease incidences and risks than Dr. W.<BR><BR>Kate, even though the "Black Death," also known as bubonic plague, was eliminated from Europe it is still carried by rodents in the southwestern US and throughout Asia and is a risk in those places for people exposed to wild rodents. But there is no commercially-available vaccine anyway.

JT, we've been all over Eastern Europe, mostly sticking to the larger cities, without getting vaccinations. Ultimately it comes down to what you feel comfortable doing. I finally broke down and went to a travel clinic when we were going to China and their recommendations were based on where exactly you are going. They advised me that it's a wise idea to have HepA and an update of diptheria/tetanus no matter where we were going. Typhoid she left to my discretion since we were staying in a larger city so I passed on it.<BR><BR>Our insurance company did cover it so we ended up paying only about $10. Without coverage the two shots were $150. You have to get a follow up shot for HepA.