Wednesday, June 1, 2011

T-99 Days!!!

Today marks the first day in double-digits in my countdown to China! It is hard to believe that four months have already passed and I've made it under the triple-digit count! Anyway...progress continued today.

My primary care doc referred me to the regional Travel Health Clinic. While he felt fine preparing me for Russia, he'd rather I see professionals for preparing for China. So this morning I had my appointment there. The nurse I met with went over my vaccinations to date, illnesses I'd had traveling previously and my plans for the future related to travel and other non-travel but potentially risky behavior. She evaluated the locations where I'd be staying in China and what I'd be doing. I got a pass on both malaria and the rabies series. She felt that I was not in a high malarial region. With respect to rabies, she informed me that even if I have the rabies series, I'd still need to get help in China within 48 hours, and there is a fairly large city nearby with (presumably) good hospitals if not a major airport. So in the end, I got a measles/mumps/rubella booster (good anyway just with the outbreaks in Boston lately), tetanus/diphtheria/pertussis booster, my second Hepatitis A shot, my first Hepatitis B shot (with a second in a month) and I came home with a live typhoid cocktail which I have to take every other day for a week, starting on Saturday. Woot woot! So that's done.

Interestingly, when I get home, she recommended I get a tuberculosis test, because she said there have been instances when travelers have picked up TB through airborne drops of spit or from the numerous clumps of "hocking" which are common in Chinese culture. Interesting.

The travel agency confirmed they have eight travelers for this excursion. I think they need ten total in order to run it at the cost I've paid. Fingers crossed they will get the additional two this month!

Next up: applying for my visa, which I can't do until July.

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