Travel Vaccines

Dear Ask The Doctor: I'm looking into doing some travelling in the Pacific area of Asia. There are some required shots I need to get. I only have a small window before I leave, 3 weeks. Hep A and B, Tetanus, and Typhoid is what I need. Is this enough time to get my shots, or should I have needed more time to get them?

Dear Jolene: You should be fine with the tetanus shot (can be taken any time) and the typhoid shot (taken 10 days before travel). For hepatitis A and B there is a combination vaccine available called Twinrix that can be administered in a rapid dose schedule of 4 doses, at 0, 7, 21 days and a fourth dose (booster dose) is taken after 1 year. So you should be able to complete the full initial dosage before starting out on your travels.