Travel Immunisation Costs & Advice
By Dr.Adam Huber (MBBS)
The price of travel immunisations, as with prescription medicines, varies from place to place and from year to year. Newer medications/vaccines are usually more expensive. Some are covered by Medicare while others you will pay the full cost.
Private health funds in Australia will usually pay for the cost of a vaccine over $32.00 (per vaccine, some funds have limits they will pay for each).
Some shots you can shop around for once you have a prescription from a GP, while others (like rabies and yellow fever) can only be bought and administered at registered travel clinics. After ringing several pharmacies in various Sydney locations, we found that it really is worth ringing around as there was a notable price difference between suppliers.
The following prices are an average from the pharmacies and clinics contacted..
|
Immunisation |
Cost |
How long the immunisation lasts |
| Cholera (certificate) |
$100 (2 $50 drinks) |
6 months |
| Diphtheria, Tetanus, Polio |
$80 as a pack, Tetanus $52 |
10 years, 5-10years, 10 years |
| Flu vaccine |
$70.00 |
1 year |
| Hepatitis A (Vaqta/Twinrex/Havrix) |
$75.00 |
10-20 years |
| Hepatitis B (HBV Vax2/Twinrex/Engerix) |
$30.00 |
10 years |
| Japanese B Encephalitis |
$360 (2 $180 shots) |
3 years |
| Meningitis (Menomune/Mencevax) |
$55.00 |
1-3 years |
| Rabies (pre exposure) |
$315 (3 $115 shots) |
2-3 years |
| Typhoid (Typhim V) |
$55.00 |
3 years |
| Yellow Fever (certificate) |
$70.00 |
10 years |
| Swine Flu |
Free |
1 year? |
Source: World Health Organisation for the duration, various travel clinics and pharmacies for the costs.
A dedicated travel health centre will most likely offer all of these shots (at a slightly higher price). The travel health centre can also be a great option for decent advice and take the hassle out of buying shots elsewhere. Although the price of your shots may be a bit higher from a travel health centre – like a 7/11 you’re just paying that bit extra for the convenience (and great advice).
For major trips it’s a good idea to sign up for ‘extras health’ care private health cover well before departure. For the $20.00 to $30.00 you pay a month you will most likely get a prescription/general allowance of around $300.00 per year (to use for all those shots). ‘Extras health’ can make a massive difference to your travel budget once you take into consideration a free trip to the dentist, cheaper physio for any niggles, money towards any other prescriptions you need or just a few cheap massages to ease the stress of planning your year long break from work.
A certificate of proof of your Yellow Fever certificate may be required for entry into some countries. If you have had the shot but lost the slip you will need to get the shot again.
So just get in early to the doc, be specific as possible with your plans and shop around for your vaccinations if you want to save on pre trip costs. For advice on the type of immunisations you may need on your holiday check out the page here.
Next: Taking precautions against Malaria
Or head back to the home page for more great advice for the Aussie traveller
