shots for yellow fever

I don't kow how much you will save, but I would personally get my shots here just in the small chance you have a reaction, even a fever for one day on vacation would not be worth it, in my opinion. I would also get shots several weeks before trip.

Something that you are probably aware of ... - it takes 10 days for the yellow fever shot to become effective so make sure that you plan for this.

Does Senegal require a YF cert? I wasn't aware of this when planning a trip there at Christmas 2012 - unfortunately I had to cancel my tickets due to work.

I'm sure if you google it, you will be able to come up with some clinics in Spain and can confirm with them the cost of the med.

Edit - I'm pretty sure you will save a lot of money - the YF shot in the US costs anywhere from $125 - 200 depending on whether the clinic also charges you a consultancy fee. I have read elsewhere that these shots can be had for about $20 in other parts of the world.

kimzoey,

I would also suggest getting vaccinations prior to departing, not only because of possible reactions but also cost. As you won't be registered with the health care system in Spain, the cost could be higher. Once you're there, you won't have any choice and will have to pay whatever they're asking.

I assume you've had a look at the U.S. State Department website to check not only health but also safety and security issues for the countries you're visiting. For visits to Senegal, it would also be a good idea to consider medication for Malaria. A consultation with a good travel medicine clinic would be prudent.

Happy travels!

We get our travel vaccines via the county health clinic. The cost is superior and there are staff to offer guidance on appropriate shots.

You might want to check out the CDC.gov web site for a complete list of shots they recommend for travel to African countries. Or for any other country.
Typhoid, Tetanus Diphtheria (TDAP), Hepatitis A and B, a regular flu shot plus Malaria pills are some of usual recommended vaccines and medicines to be taken. The first (of three) Hep B needs to be taken 6 months before departure to be fully protected. And depending on your age you may have already had the Hep A and B shots. Hep B shots are now given to babies at birth.

Your County Health Department has the details also.

Caveat: I am not a medical professional and am not claiming any deep knowledge - just providing some of my experience based on the question you posed.

I will add that the county health clinics are not always the cheapest. Do call around. I found a wide variety of costs and consultancy fees when shopping for a YF shot earlier last year.

Since you mentioned cost is a factor, figure out exactly what you need and then do some research. Last June, I got the malaria meds within 2 hours of landing in Addis Ababa - just needed to walk into a pharmacy and buy what I needed. It was a whole lot cheaper than trying to schedule an appointment and then get an expensive prescription here in the US.

I had also researched going into a travel clinic in Cape Town which had provided me with the detail costs of the 3 types of malaria medications that they had available. In the end it was just so easy to pick up what I needed in Addis that I didn't go into the clinic. Unfortunately I had to get the YF shot in the US since I would not have had the 10 day waiting period covered before I got to S. Africa.

Obviously, your situation may be different and you may need other medications that may not be available in other countries.

Yellow fever is a much more serious, if far less common, diseae than malaria, with a death rate hovering around 50% of infected people.

Take your shots at home. There is some chance of small reactions, often no more than fever and chills for a day or two, that would ruin your trip while in Spain. Moreover, as others points, a Yellow Fever vaccination only kicks in 10 days after the shot, and countries that demand certificates of vaccination require such advance vaccination. It is also much easier to deal with medical providers in your own language, in your own country/health system.

For what it's worth as of late 2013, the typhoid vaccine was $57 and the yellow fever vaccine $103.

I'd also advocate for getting the shots you need before starting your trip. Yes, you could probably get what you need in Spain, and it might well be cheaper, but as others have pointed out, there's always a chance of yucky side effects that would be more difficult to deal with while traveling. You might also be more susceptible to those side effects if you've been traveling and/or your immune system is at all compromised by travel, a new bug, etc.

Also, if you're one of those rare people who have severe side effects, others are quite right that it would be more difficult to manage that in a foreign language, pharmacies which won't necessarily have the same name-brand meds you're used to, a health care system with which you're not familiar and with which getting reimbursement from your home insurance might be difficult if it even covers the treatment, etc.

If it were me, I wouldn't want to chance the vaccine disrupting my time in Spain and would try to get it taken care of before departing on the trip.

Suggest you contact a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Yellow Fever Vaccination Clinic (http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellow-fever-vaccination-clinics/search) to get their recommendation. I believe that the CDC recommends you get vaccinated 10 days prior to travelling to an endemic area, which would put you in Spain or Morocco, depending on how long you had planned to stay in the latter. As an aside, I had a Yellow Fever vaccination in the 1980s and had fever, headache, and muscle aches for about 24-48 hours afterwards. I usually have no adverse reactions to flu or tetanus booster shots, so just be aware that the Yellow Fever shot may put you out of commission for a brief period, wherever you are.