In July of 2022, Away Clinic opened two Arizona locations (Scottsdale and Chandler) to provide vaccines, prescriptions and travel health education for people who are traveling to the world’s most exotic destinations.
Now that COVID restrictions have loosened up, international travel is on the rebound. One popular activity for some of the retirees living in Arizona is a cruise around Africa. While such a trip would certainly be unforgettable, it also comes with a few risks. Luckily many of the risks are avoidable with the right preparation. First of all, you’d better get vaccinated if you’re planning a trip to Africa. According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC), Yellow Fever, a vaccine-preventable disease, causes 30,000 deaths every year, 90% of them in Africa. In fact, many countries in Africa will not allow entry without proof of yellow fever vaccination. Various other diseases that can pop up in some regions of Africa such as typhoid are also preventable with vaccines. Although there is no vaccine available in the U.S. for malaria, prescription medicine to prevent malaria is available.
Africa is not the only continent where vaccines are required or recommended. The CDC provides excellent resources for international travelers in its destination recommendation pages. For more information, we suggest setting an appointment with one of our nurses to discuss your specific needs.
A typical travel vaccine appointment starts with the nurse educating the patient on how to avoid disease during their journey. Next, the nurse provides their assessment of what vaccines and medicines are required and recommended based on the patient’s travel plans, medical history and immunization records. Lastly, vaccines are administered and a 5-minute telehealth appointment is scheduled with a provider in the event the patient requires a malaria prescription. The entire appointment usually lasts from thirty to forty-five minutes.
About Away Clinic
Away Clinic provides vaccines to individuals who are planning to travel to some of the world’s most exotic locations. Away Clinic’s two locations in the Southeast Valley (Scottsdale and Chandler) continually stock all vaccines that a traveler may need, including yellow fever vaccine and typhoid vaccine. In addition to vaccinations, we provide malaria prescriptions and travel health education. Andrea An, MD of Gilbert, Arizona, is the medical director.
Press contact: Paige Ellsworth, RN (press@awayclinic.com; (480) 600-9287)