I'll be taking dd and ds to Central Africa when they are almost exactly three and one. Neither one is vaccinated at all, and I'm super uncomfortable with the idea of giving them anything. Yellow fever is required for entry for anyone over one year. I think I might be able to get away with it for ds, but he's also HUGE, so even though he'll be not quite 13 months, I'm not sure that people looking at him will think, "Oh, he's young, it's not required yet". However, as a frequent traveler to many countries "requiring" yellow fever for entry, I have never once had to show proof, including in our destination country for this trip. I'm tempted to just not do it, but would really hate myself if we got there and I was forced to vaccinate them with a vaccine of questionable origin/storage/etc in country. ???
The recommendeds are Hep A/B, typhoid, polio and rabies. I'm not giving them the rabies vaccine. I need to brush up on my Hep research, I'm leaning towards no on the typhoid, and am totally at a loss with polio (?!).
We will not do the required anti-malarials, and will just deal with that if it becomes an issue. We'll be staying in my parents' home (with bug nets for sleeping) in a capital city for about three months, but will travel to outlying, more (very) rural areas as well. Definitely have access to prompt and good medical care, and my family has lived there for years and is familiar with the "typical" illnesses.
If we do decide to vaccinate, does anyone have any recommendations for easing the stress on their bodies (homeopathics or something)? Also, any suggestions for dealing with the spraying of pesticides they do while you're trapped on the tarmac in the plane? It makes my skin crawl when it's just me, but I get a little panicked when thinking about subjecting my children's tiny little bodies to that. I guess I just have to suck it up. Bummer.
