"Unwanted vaccinations"

Today I went to the Trailfinders Travel clinic as my own GP practice could not see me before departure.

There were some essential booster vaccinations I needed such as typhoid, polio, tetanus, diptheria. However rabies and yellow fever were only optional according to the Fit for Travel site. I was not going to spend much time at my destination and had done my research well enough to know that there were no cases of rabies for decades at my destination.

However during the consultation they were trying to persuade me to have the rabies jab. Another member of staff sitting at another desk told me I would be bitten by bats and die a terrible death if I was not vaccinated. I told both of these staff that my own GP had advised me not to have another rabies shot unless already bitten by an animal. This was because I had a severe reaction when I had shots before which my doctor thought could be life-threatening. I explained this three times calmly but their concern escalated until I took back my vaccination records and said "I'm going I just do not trust you". One of them had also given wrong information about the risk of rabies in my destination and I felt they were trying to really scare me to get a vaccination.

I found this behaviour unfair, and although the second member of staff was trying to convince me to have an injection which would probably cause me anaphylaxis, instead I am here to tell my story. Instead I have got myself a private appointment at the Hospital of Tropical Diseases where I am sure I will be treated by professionals who understand I cannot have a rabies shot and also that the risk I am taking is minimal.