Tickborne Encephalitis TBE Vaccine

We’ve always gotten travel advised vaccines at our local County Health Department. Is that an option for you?

Oh, yeah I checked with them and they don't offer it. :-( I feel very weird, like some things I read say to take this seriously and get vaccinated, but then it's so difficult to get and so expensive that it seems like I'm meant to just give up. We have ticks at home in Pennsylvania, I know they are hard to avoid.

CDC page says your doctor or travel clinic must order, but note also that it is a multi part shot, so you'd need months of advance time.
https://www.cdc.gov/tick-borne-encephalitis/vaccine/index.html
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/none/switzerland#vaccines-and-medicines
https://www.cdc.gov/tick-borne-encephalitis/prevention/index.html

I took many precautions when visiting Brazil, but this did not even occur to me for Switzerland (!). At least when in a cooler place, you have the protection of ample clothing. The good thing about a travel clinic is that they can help evaluate your risk level--would anyone on a day hike be advised to get this, or only the multi day back-country hiker for example. Like how this page explains extensive exposure:
https://www.cdc.gov/tick-borne-encephalitis/healthcare-providers/hcp-vaccine.html#vaccine-considerations

Where are you going to be hiking? I know you are concerned about your kids, but if you are hiking above 1500 meters there is little risk of encountering ticks. They are found in lower areas, mainly forests and grasslands; not in the higher areas of the Alps.

https://www.ch.ch/en/health/ticks#ticks-in-switzerland-where-are-they-what-time-of-year-do-you-need-to-watch-out-for-them

This website says they are mainly between 500-1000 meters:

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/business/tick-bites-and-habitat-increasing-in-switzerland/47498806

And this map shows confirmed bites up (but it is a few years old).

https://zecke-tique-tick.ch/en/tickbite-map-switzerland/

If your pediatrician won’t order the vaccine maybe they deem it not necessary.

We got the vaccine because we go to Switzerland and hike both high and low every year. It was ridiculously expensive but our health insurance paid about 2/3 of the cost and yes, we had to go to a travel clinic and have the consultation, which insurance also covered. Increasing temps mean more ticks and while Lyme disease can be treated, encephalitis has no cure, and as we are of an advanced age we opted for maximum safety. And it takes up to 4 months to get all of the doses, BTW.

That said, consider a tick repellent you can spray on yourselves, at least pants cuffs, shoes, and exposed skin on your lower body. Hike in the center of paths and don’t stray into grass or weeds.

Thanks everyone!

I live in Wengen, and the frist summer we lived here my wife got bit by a tick. First time in her life. Without any bad consequences. I grew up in a forest, so I know how to properly remove one.
Myself I have not been bitten by a tick here yet though.

So yes, there are ticks at even our altitude, and TBE is endemic here. So I got my shots, and so did my wife.

But if you are going to stay on the typical tourist paths you will not need it. We are a bit higher risk, because we do a lot of gardening an even some forestry stuff.

For those of us from Canada, the TBE vaccine is not available so we'll have to take our chances. I don't do much hiking so hopefully won't have to deal with that.

Unfortunately that's not the only problem that we'll be dealing with in future......

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/25/mosquito-borne-diseases-spreading-in-europe-due-to-climate-crisis-says-expert?CMP=oth_b-aplnews_d-1