On the Vaccine Super Highway to Immunity....

Well, today was the first round of vaccinations... my oh my what a list of things I needed. Apparently, an MMR booster is now recommended which I'll need to go back for but I did manage to walked out with about half of what I'll need for my trip:

• Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis
  
• Hep A & B
• Influenza (yes I finally broke down and got one and will need another one in May)

I still need to finish the Hepatitis series, Typhoid, Meningococcal, Yellow Fever, maybe Polio, and as I mentioned earlier; an MMR booster. The four shots I got today took 2 hours. Here at UCSB it's almost like a counseling session. I walked out of there with about 50 pages of information and feel like Bob the travel vaccine guy should be a family member at this point.

I have to go back for another information session before getting the malaria prophylaxis prescription, altitude sickness medication, and Cipro to treat any potential bacterial infections. Most of this falls in the "better-safe-than-sorry" category but I have to admit that the process is a bit intimidating.

At least I didn't have to deal with the military style inoculation guns - something I thought I had blocked out of my childhood memories...

With the exception of a little soreness in both arms, I'm all good. The actual injections were low on the pain threshold for me at least. Since the hepatitis vaccine is a combination of both A & B, it did hurt a little bit more than the others solely because the volume of medication was twice that of the others. In any case, I survived!

Flight Booked!

Holy cow- things move quickly.



After confirming dates with Peter, I am now the lucky owner of a seat on one of Virgin Atlantic's flights from LA to Heathrow and then on to Nairobi. I've been watching flights for a few weeks now and decided to try to land one of the long overnight layovers between LA and Nairobi so I'd have a chance to see an additional city. It was a tough choice between Dubai and London until Virgin Atlantic significantly dropped their fares. Perhaps the fares will continue to decline, but friends here and abroad have told me that I'm getting a great deal.

I'm acquainted with a few people in London which may add to the fun if they're around during my 23 hour layover. It also looks like my Marriott rewards points will finally come in handy with about a dozen choices in London.

In other news, I started the passport process today too. Mine has to be renewed ($75) and it looks like my old one will be replaced with a new one. I'll be sad to lose my one stamp, but maybe it's just an indication that I have to return to Trinidad and Tobago to get that stamp back in my collection.

It also seems that there are new passport products available here in the states. A new card helps expedite passage into the US from Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean and Bermuda when entry is via land or port.

More information:
Book vs Card

Starting the Immunization Process.

Today I took the first official step towards my Kenya / Tanzania trip: Immunizations.

Turns out, I need to bring my immunization record but I have no idea where that is. I haven't had a single immunization since I was a kid. This will be an adventure for sure.

So in my immediate future, as in Tuesday Nov 18th at 8:30am:

1. MMR
2. DPT
3. Yellow Fever
4. Hep A
5. Hep B
6. Typhoid
7. Meningitis
8. Rabies
9. Maybe Polio

The best place to find out what you might need if you're heading abroad is the CDC's website:
http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx