Vaccines in Malawi

You already know how many shots and vaccines we’ve received here in Mozambique to protect us from the hordes of tropical diseases continuously laying siege to our foreign bodies. Luckily we’ve managed to stay relatively healthy here, probably due to this vaccine aegis. Also our site’s higher elevation, a good source of clean water, a well balanced diet, and lots of good karma contribute to our relatively disease-free service. Despite the occasional bouts with minor sickness we haven’t experienced anything that would seem outlandish by USA standards. Now we’ve added two more vaccines to the list. Luc had to have his Yellow fever vaccine renewed. He had been inoculated his first time serving in Honduras in 2001, but the protection against this potentially lethal fever only lasts ten years and just ran out a couple months ago. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem since Yellow Fever is not usually present in Moz, but it is endemic to Tanzania, where we are planning to spend our winter break. We discovered this while inspecting our large yellow World Health Organization cards that document our now extensive history of vaccinations which visitors must present proof of vaccination to enter, and again when leaving. Luckily our Mozambique Peace Corps Office was able to refer us to the Malawi office for the shot. The half day journey to Lilongwe certainly beats the 40+ hour trek to Maputo. Plus, Evelyn, the big mama nurse who administers the shots gives the best hugs. So, just a few weeks after our trip to the Peace Corps Malawi office we’re back again this time for both of us to get a flu shot. It’s not too bad of a trip, and we get to eat at Janet’s favorite Chinese restaurant and stock up on peanut butter, powdered milk, and toilet paper. It’s much easier to prevent a disease than to treat one; we just wish they had a malaria vaccine we could get instead of having to take prophylaxis medications during the whole two years here in Africa.