Getting immunizations in Delhi

Glandith

Hi everyone,

I'm planning on living in India for some time and I've decided to get immunized. I have visited a local travel health clinic and after seeing the prices for some (400+ CAD together), I think I'd be better off getting them once I arrive in Delhi. Those that I will need will be an Avaxim booster (for Hep. A), as well as shots for Japanese Encephalitis and Rabies.

I've looked through the threads regarding immunizations and I've seen recommendations for the East-West Medical Centre as well as Apollo Hospitals. Would anyone know if either one of these places provides the specific immunizations I'm looking for? Thanks for your help!

Glandith

tittooraju

Usually in kerala the medical store guys will get the vaccines requested within a day if they dont have it with them..
Hope thats the same way in delhi too.. Ask the medical store guys and take them to a clinic to get injected..

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Shivani Skydancer

Glandith Good question!

One must be sure that the medicines were stored appropriately, and with frequent power outages all over India, it is not at all certain that the medicines one gets from pharmacies are effective...
Getting them from a large reputable hospital would be far safer!

Glandith

Thank you for your replies. So do I need to purchase these from a pharmacy (with a prescription, I imagine) and bring them to a hospital to have them administered, or do the hospitals stock these vaccines themselves? The most important one I listed is the Hep A one. I need to get my second dose 6-12 months after my first, which I'm supposed to get this week. I need to be sure that Avaxim is available in Delhi.

I read that the other two are available, but wanted to know if those specific hospitals stock them as I'd prefer to make the least amount of trips possible.

Glandith

Glandith

I guess I'll need to give them a call since no one seems to know. After having done further research, it seems like I'll need the meningitis vaccine as well, priced at 150 CAD (ouch). This might be a good one to get once I arrive as well, since it's low-risk like the others. When I have more information, I'll give an update.

Glandith

dillichaat

Get then from a reputed hospital, not from a chemist shop. You wouldn't believe the way they store their stuff here. Either it's too hot or they put the refrigerator too cold and it freezes, which is also disastrous to a vaccine.

Even better, 400 CAD or not, get them at home. How much was that plane ticket again?

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machadinha

Just keep in mind many vaccinations will take a while to kick in; you'll likely be unguarded for the first few weeks.

To agree with Dilli, you might ask yourself if intending to be "living in India for some time" (or even for the regular holidaymaker there), this approach if apparently you intend to get vaccinated at all is worth the risk and/or the (perceived) savings.

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fsg

A long time ago I did get vaccinations and no doubt they are out of date by now.

I did get guardia in Pakistan, but now travel to India without any protections, dont even take malaria tablets as I got a bad reaction from them.

Best way of keeping healthy is to take care with food, water,mozzies, and let your body build up its own defences.

OK you might get sick for a day or two, but curd is a marvellous way of calming any stomach problems, and in India they make the best curd in the world.

No doubt others will come along and say I am being stupid. I tell it as it is for me!

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machadinha

Indeed; sorry, but the runs most of us will survive. Such observations just don't pertain to most of the serious diseases at hand though.

Certainly neither Hep. A nor Jap. E which the poster had specifically mentioned have a thing to do with such precautions & their efficacy or not. (Nor do meningitis nor rabies, which have also been mentioned.)

dillichaat

Not saying stupid, but irresponsible, yes. There's no vaccine against giardia btw. Antimalarials are pretty much an individual decision if you'll be staying for an extended period.

But not getting vaccinated against Hep A/B, tetanus, polio and tyfus is just plain stupid as the demonstrated benefits of getting the vaccines far outweigh the cost and risk of not getting them and falling ill. If you get hep A your holiday is over.....and that's a best case scenario. Are you honestly saying that you can vouch for every pint of water you've drunk in India and every barber that gave you a haircut/shave (many of them are infected)?

A couple of 100 years ago, people didn't have vaccines...and died like flies (smallpox, typhus, cholera....). What about their 'natural defences'?

fsg

dillichat


I think I may have drunk more Indian water than you , and trust the hairdresser I go to implicitly, been going to the same fellow, when Im there for the last 9 years.

I never mentioned you could vaccinate against guardia, medical remedies do the job.

As I said I only speak from my own experience

Glandith

Good point. Does anyone know if the two hospitals I listed (East-West Medical Centre, Apollo Hospitals) are reputable? Are there any other hospitals in Delhi, reputable of course, that someone can recommend?

I understand that these will take some time to kick in. The reason why I am opting to get these once I arrive, aside from wanting to save a fair bit of money, is because they are very low risk, to the point where the rabies shot isn't available in both travel clinics I have visited, the JE vaccine isn't recommended for the region I will be visiting, and the meningitis vaccine is only recommended for health care providers. The Hep A shot, I have no choice since it will be my second dose which I will need to take 6-12 months after my first.

Glandith

machadinha

How come people who tend to take these "esoteric" lines of thought in the first place (and then add a disclaimer that that's what they're doing since they know they are) then find it necessary to start banging you over the head with how their traveler's genitals are of a more impressive size than others' anyway?

One has to listen to it too much already on the ground, anywhere around the globe. Please.

(FSG, for all one knows Dillichaat lives there. (In that sense, it's a little pathetic I or anyone would have to jump to his defense even, wouldn't you say.) He may have different views than I as a budget traveler, and I suppose we should all welcome such views getting together here; but you may want to think twice about getting into some pissing contest about amounts of water drunk there. Or wait, now you're gonna tell us it's about drinking "real" Indian water, eh? Ha! "Yes, but when I was living in the sewer there with just 10P to spare..." Again: Please.)

Guys: Please remember, and all the time, that no matter how "cool" you are, the fact that you personally survived [whatever] doesn't prove a thing [or whatever].

I'm personally a little perturbed sometimes about the apparent need to repeat such truisms, really.