Seasonal Flu Shot

[OKAY]

 

 said seasonal Flu shot for 500 baht at the hospital. The shot may be 500 baht but you HAVE to see a Doctor to get permission from him/her to get the seasonal flu shot. I walked away.

Somethin I read recently on the internet said you could get a seasonal Flu Shot at a local hospital for 500 baht. So I tried but you HAD to see a doctor for 500 or so first. Could not get the flu shot as a walk-in unless you seen a doctor to get his/her okay.  I need time to think when a seemingly simple 'plan' changes like that (2*500 not 1*500), so I walked. Luckily most Thai I met the rest of the day was wearing a mask. Just walk in and show ID at Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, local county clinic... ; yep, not in USA anymore.

It's really not the extra 500, it's the feeling that I'm being had. I wonder if the local clinics have Flu and TDAP shots?

 

[Greg_B]

SOP in Thailand (Standard Operating Practice)

[OKAY]

6 hours ago, Greg_B said:

SOP in Thailand (Standard Operating Practice)

Yes, I'll end up succumbing as I'm afraid of the seasonal Flu and it's ten years since last TDAP.

[ChiFlyer]

Sorry if I am being dense here, but I am under the impression that the Thai Flu season is different than Western (Northern) countries. In the West one usually schedules a flu shot for late September or so. In Thailand I thought the flu season was more in tune with the rainy season so shots are scheduled more toward a June time frame.

When I was working based in the US, I would get an annual flu shot as I spent a lot of time in airplanes traveling for work. Now that I am retired here in Thailand for the last 6 years I have not had one. The one year that I was in the US for a month in late Fall, I did get the flu shot.

Also, I am under the impression that the shots vary somewhat by the region they are meant to address. 

One more thing -> US practice was/is to give seniors a stronger dosage because they are more at risk for serious problems. I did this once and spent 3 days in bed from side effects from the shot. After talking that through with my doc, he advised me to stipulate "no senior dosage" for any future shots. Never had another reaction. The cynic in me strongly suspects that they can charge more for a senior dosage.

Edited November 23, 2022 by ChiFlyer

[westexpat2]

4 hours ago, ChiFlyer said:

Sorry if I am being dense here, but I am under the impression that the Thai Flu season is different than Western (Northern) countries. In the West one usually schedules a flu shot for late September or so. In Thailand I thought the flu season was more in tune with the rainy season so shots are scheduled more toward a June time frame.

When I was working based in the US, I would get an annual flu shot as I spent a lot of time in airplanes traveling for work. Now that I am retired here in Thailand for the last 6 years I have not had one. The one year that I was in the US for a month in late Fall, I did get the flu shot.

Also, I am under the impression that the shots vary somewhat by the region they are meant to address. 

One more thing -> US practice was/is to give seniors a stronger dosage because they are more at risk for serious problems. I did this once and spent 3 days in bed from side effects from the shot. After talking that through with my doc, he advised me to stipulate "no senior dosage" for any future shots. Never had another reaction. The cynic in me strongly suspects that they can charge more for a senior dosage.

Asia-Pacific region, influenza viruses circulate throughout the year in one of two latitude-dependent circulation patterns. In the first pattern, which occurs in tropical or partially tropical countries (e.g., Bangladesh, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam), influenza virus circulation peaks during the summer monsoon season (usually between July and October); in the second pattern, which tends to occur in countries on or close to the equator (e.g., Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore), influenza viruses circulate at a stable level throughout the year with no obvious discrete peak.