Fun story. I was required by my previous company (big fortune 500 type) to have a medical and proof of travel vaccine for international assignments. Not a big deal. I mostly agree with the policy. In exchange for world-class health and evacuation insurance, you need to prove you are healthy before you go.
So there is a vaccine called Japanese Encephalitis. It is a serious disease that could kill you if bitten by a tick that is endemic to most of Asia. Personally, I think it is a big money maker, that is unnecessarily pushed on 99% of tourists by big-pharma & the travel vac places. You are only going to get bit by a tick if you are off jungle treking - not sitting on a beach or shopping in Tokyo.
So I end up in the Philippines on short notice and do my pre-transfer-medical retroactively (because rules are rules except they are not). Update a couple expired vaccines. "Sorry sir, the Jap Encephalitis vaccine is ILLEGAL in the Philippines". Okey-doke who gives a fuck. I am working in a 50 story office tower and living in a 5-star hotel.
And then the shit hits the fan. The emails start pouring in. "Why are you deficient in your JE?" "It is ILLEGAL here". Over the course of 6-months the emails get more frantic and CC'ed higher and higher and higher. It got to the point of why don't you fly to Singapore for a day and get it there? There were various visa related reasons why it was impossible for me to leave the PI. So it finally makes it up to the C-level folk and they seriously debated illegally smuggling in a nurse with the vaccine on a private jet - until they figured out it needed three separate doses. Not ONE PERSON could comprehend that different countries have different rules.
Japanese Encephalitis is a standard vaccine in most of Asia for a reason. My kids got it in Taiwan and I trust Taiwan a fuck of a lot more than I do the Philippines. You do you, but if you can avoid a deadly disease with a couple of needles, well...
I’d trust Taiwan more than the Philippines also! I’ve lived in Singapore for almost 25 years. Three of my kids were born there. I traveled extensively throughout Asia and it was never raised as a requirement or an issue. I think we’ve discussed this before. I’ll look into it since I’m moving my main residence from Singapore to Indonesia early next year.
The problem with the JE vaccine is it is only effective for about two years. And it takes 3-shots at 0-days, 30-days, and 6-months or something like that. At least it used to. I've heard there is now a better one that only takes two shots.
I've had it half-a-dozen times. It is not a big deal to me. Obviously my company pays for mine. But the travel vac places nail honeymooners with $400 per person bills for this vaccine when they intend to do nothing but fuck for a week in a 5-star resort and come home.
Fun story. I was required by my previous company (big fortune 500 type) to have a medical and proof of travel vaccine for international assignments. Not a big deal. I mostly agree with the policy. In exchange for world-class health and evacuation insurance, you need to prove you are healthy before you go.
So there is a vaccine called Japanese Encephalitis. It is a serious disease that could kill you if bitten by a tick that is endemic to most of Asia. Personally, I think it is a big money maker, that is unnecessarily pushed on 99% of tourists by big-pharma & the travel vac places. You are only going to get bit by a tick if you are off jungle treking - not sitting on a beach or shopping in Tokyo.
So I end up in the Philippines on short notice and do my pre-transfer-medical retroactively (because rules are rules except they are not). Update a couple expired vaccines. "Sorry sir, the Jap Encephalitis vaccine is ILLEGAL in the Philippines". Okey-doke who gives a fuck. I am working in a 50 story office tower and living in a 5-star hotel.
And then the shit hits the fan. The emails start pouring in. "Why are you deficient in your JE?" "It is ILLEGAL here". Over the course of 6-months the emails get more frantic and CC'ed higher and higher and higher. It got to the point of why don't you fly to Singapore for a day and get it there? There were various visa related reasons why it was impossible for me to leave the PI. So it finally makes it up to the C-level folk and they seriously debated illegally smuggling in a nurse with the vaccine on a private jet - until they figured out it needed three separate doses. Not ONE PERSON could comprehend that different countries have different rules.
Great story. Once this travel ban crap is lifted I’m off to SE Asia. Never had to have the JE shot but your story seems so relatable.
Japanese Encephalitis is a standard vaccine in most of Asia for a reason. My kids got it in Taiwan and I trust Taiwan a fuck of a lot more than I do the Philippines. You do you, but if you can avoid a deadly disease with a couple of needles, well...
I’d trust Taiwan more than the Philippines also! I’ve lived in Singapore for almost 25 years. Three of my kids were born there. I traveled extensively throughout Asia and it was never raised as a requirement or an issue. I think we’ve discussed this before. I’ll look into it since I’m moving my main residence from Singapore to Indonesia early next year.
The problem with the JE vaccine is it is only effective for about two years. And it takes 3-shots at 0-days, 30-days, and 6-months or something like that. At least it used to. I've heard there is now a better one that only takes two shots.
I've had it half-a-dozen times. It is not a big deal to me. Obviously my company pays for mine. But the travel vac places nail honeymooners with $400 per person bills for this vaccine when they intend to do nothing but fuck for a week in a 5-star resort and come home.
Except you're wrong regarding the method of transmission. It not a tick, it's mosquito borne. Mosquitoes fly.