I’ve had enough vaccines lately to kill a large goat, and I hate it.
Yeah, yeah. I know vaccines are necessary to keep me healthy as I travel to far-flung places. But now it’s the prices that are killing me.
The Japanese encephalitis vaccine alone costs nearly $500. Yes, $500. That’s because it is made of diamonds and unicorn tears.
Add that to the vaccine tally I already have going — typhoid, tetanus, hepatitis A & B, yellow fever, H1N1, even chicken pox — and I’m approaching $1,000. That puts a SERIOUS dent in my travel budget.
Naturally, my health insurance doesn’t cover anything like this. Their idea of preventative health is to stay at home and swallow handfuls of beta blockers all day long.
That, of course, is not an option, so I either have to pay up or accept the risk.
Here’s my list weighing the pros and cons of getting a ridiculously expensive poke in the arm:
PRO
The Centers for Disease Control say that many of the areas on my itinerary carry “significant risk” for Japanese encephalitis, so it’s probably smart to be protected.
Mosquitos, which love me, can happily chew on me and I won’t get sick.
Gives me the freedom to worry about other diseases instead.
I won’t have to slather myself was gallons of deet. Only a few pints.
Sounds really impressive when I rattle off my list of vaccines.
CON
I could die.
If I don’t die, I’ll suffer severe, permanent neurological damage.
Coming soon: How the best anti-malaria drug, which has the least side effects, is $7 per pill!