Vaccinations are an integral part of planning your international travel. If overlooked, travelers can be denied access to foreign countries. If you plan to visit France in the near future, you may be well advised to get vaccinated at least one month prior to your trip. This gives the vaccines time to reach peak effectiveness.
Your doctor at the travel clinic of your choice will help determine which vaccines you will need based upon international law. He or she may also advise you to get routinely recommended vaccinations for diseases that are common in certain regions of France that you will be traveling. Your immunization history and planned activity itinerary will assist the doctor in determining if travel vaccines are necessary.
In order to get the most from your travel vaccine, you will need to see your healthcare provider 4 to 6 weeks before embarking on your trip. Though this is the proper time frame for being inoculated for diseases that could befall you on your trip, even if the timeframe is less than one month, it is still possible to reap the benefits by getting your vaccines. This goes for pre-trip medications, such as preventative courses of antibiotics as well as counselling and information about how to avoid illnesses or injuries while you are traveling abroad.
If your itinerary includes multiple countries, be sure to make your physician aware of this fact so you can be given the proper vaccines and travel information for those countries.
For extended stays abroad, students who plan to study abroad or those in foreign countries for work opportunities, it is also important to obtain lists of required vaccines from the school or place of employment.
While you are visiting the travel clinic, your doctor will ask you about your routine vaccinations. If they are not currently up to date, they should be caught up before leaving the country. Your routine vaccines should include influenza, HPV, varicella, polio, MMR, and DPT. These vaccines can be given to any relatively healthy adult. Consult your physician about your child’s vaccinations, as some that are highly recommended for travel in certain areas are not safe for those under the age of 17.
Even if you are not a frequent traveler, or do any traveling at all, it is strongly recommended that you keep your booster shots up to date. The United States is the second most traveled country in the world, and foreigners can bring in diseases from their countries that are not common here. It’s better to be safe than sorry!
When traveling in France, the following routine vaccines are recommended for New Yorkers: MMR vaccine, DPT vaccine, polio vaccines and others common to the United States. While not required, travelers are encouraged to get their Hepatitis B vaccines before entering France. If there is a chance that travelers will come into close proximity with bats, it is advisable to get a rabies vaccine.
To learn more about immunizations recommended for travel in France or to set up an inoculation appointment, contact us today.