'vaccinations necessary?' Medical

skyblue (63.176.159.75) - 03/05/09 14:26

I will be traveling to Bolivia in May to do some research and I need to know if all those "recommended vaccinations" are really necessary. I don't take medications and I often react very badly to chemicals and drugs so I wish to avoid this. How is the medical car in Bolivia if I do happen to fall ill? Can anyone offer any advice on these issues?

• Vaccinations for South American Travel

Comment #1 Eithne (109.111.97.145) - 04/09/10 20:46

Yes, vaccinations are indeed necessary. And if ever those vaccinations are not mandatory I would still suggest that you go for a shot. It is better to be protected than not. Have a great day.

Comment #2 Bolivia Expat from Santa Cruz - 04/10/10 06:36

"Which vaccinations?"

If you are in the USA you can spend thousands of dollars for all kinds of vaccinations before traveling to South America.

Getting vaccinations can range from required for entry, to reasonable to completely absurd. If your vaccinations are costing more than your plane ticket you are probably well over the absurd range of things.

Are you going to tropical areas? Yellow fever areas? Remember, South America has a larger land mass than the United States. It varies from tropical, to cool (and cold) mountain regions, sub tropical areas and basically arctic areas.

If you visit, for example, Bogota, you will hardly get yellow fever, as Bogota is NOT tropical being in the mountains. However, you may need the yellow fever vaccination to enter other South American countries after having visited Colombia, even if you weren't in a tropical area of Colombia.

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