immunizations for school

[kellia]

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Hello! Anyone else in my boat? I do not have health insurance and my pharmacy school requires a handful of immunizations/screenings prior to the first day of class. The ones I need, or need to be tested for, are Td, varicella titer, HepB, Meningococcal, and PPd screening. Even the health dept. is expensive!!! From what I've looked into, it doesn't look like I will be able to get all of these things done for less than $350. Any suggestions??? 😕

 

[jmhousem]

You have to have student health insurance, right? (At least, I do. I assume that is standard.) When does that take effect? (Is there a way that you can arrange to have these done under that coverage?) Also, have you checked the student health services at your school to see how expensive they are?

 

[kellia]

You have to have student health insurance, right? (At least, I do. I assume that is standard.) When does that take effect? (Is there a way that you can arrange to have these done under that coverage?) Also, have you checked the student health services at your school to see how expensive they are?

I wish that my student insurance was going to activate in time, but, alas, it doesn't. I have to have my immuniz. done by july 31. i know. it's soon. Student insurance doesn't kick in until Sept. 1. I even checked with Student Health Services at my undergrad, and it was even more expensive than the Health Dept. I think I'm just going to have to be screwed out of $350.

 

[vafcarrot]

My school allows for a oral confirmation of chicken box. Also, the only other things that we need is a tb screening (free for full time, $10 for part time), proof of vaccines for measles, mumps, and rebella (or rebeola) (you should have gotten this before kindergarden and 6th grade), and the hep B series ($25 a pop). What are the other things that you are talking about?

 

[flyer]

Hello! Anyone else in my boat? I do not have health insurance and my pharmacy school requires a handful of immunizations/screenings prior to the first day of class. The ones I need, or need to be tested for, are Td, varicella titer, HepB, Meningococcal, and PPd screening. Even the health dept. is expensive!!! From what I've looked into, it doesn't look like I will be able to get all of these things done for less than $350. Any suggestions??? 😕

Your student insurance probably wouldn't cover immunizations anyway, it seems that most don't.

 

[kellia]

My school allows for a oral confirmation of chicken box. Also, the only other things that we need is a tb screening (free for full time, $10 for part time), proof of vaccines for measles, mumps, and rebella (or rebeola) (you should have gotten this before kindergarden and 6th grade), and the hep B series ($25 a pop). What are the other things that you are talking about?

mcphs will not take an oral confirmation of having chicken pox, they require a blood test ($72). Td shot is tetanus and diptheria, which I haven't had in 15 years so it is required ($32). Hepatitis B ($45/shot- 3 shots). Meningitis shot ($90). And a screening for Ppd (TB) ($19). These are just the costs of the shots/tests. If I have to pay for an office visit it will cost more. The school also requests MMR, like your school, but I do have verification that I have had those. These prices are what the Health Dept. in my area charges.

I know that immunizations are good to have, I just wish that it wouldn't cost soooo much when I am "officially" now $52000 in debt for my first year of Pharmacy school!!!

 

[JustMeAgain]

The meningitis shot is only recommended not required at mcphs-worcester

mcphs will not take an oral confirmation of having chicken pox, they require a blood test ($72). Td shot is tetanus and diptheria, which I haven't had in 15 years so it is required ($32). Hepatitis B ($45/shot- 3 shots). Meningitis shot ($90). And a screening for Ppd (TB) ($19). These are just the costs of the shots/tests. If I have to pay for an office visit it will cost more. The school also requests MMR, like your school, but I do have verification that I have had those. These prices are what the Health Dept. in my area charges.

I know that immunizations are good to have, I just wish that it wouldn't cost soooo much when I am "officially" now $52000 in debt for my first year of Pharmacy school!!!

 

[kellia]

The meningitis shot is only recommended not required at mcphs-worcester

That is GREAT news!!! Thank you! I wasn't sure because there was a waiver form for that shot, but another form said Fall 2005 it would be required for students living on campus. I'm living in the student housing, so I thought I was required to get it. Maybe the new living/learning center isn't considered "on-campus"?? Thanks again, that will save me a chunk of $$!

 

[HNF3beta]

As far as I know, the student health insurance will not cover any immunization requested by the school. I got my blood titer done at student health which runs about $25 for each titer. The Meningococcal cost me $89 and the full physical exam is about $50. If you volunteer at the ER dept in any hospital, the Hep B will be given for free. I hope this will help you out a bit.

 

[NYCillini]

You can try volunteering at a hospital. Usually they do the TB for free....sometimes chicken pox and hep B, etc...depends on the facility.

If that doesn't work out ...of course this is not the most ethical of approaches...you can try the "religious" excuse until you have money to pay for the vaccines. I think Scientology and/or jevohav's witnesses do not vaccinate.

 

[off2skl]

Also, check with your school. I know mine had a deal with one of the labs to lessen the cost of the titers (not sure about immunizations). Now that we're in school they have a lab come out a few times a year to do TBs and immunizations for a fairly affordable price. My TB was $30 that way (on my insurance I would have had to pay $20 for the office visit and $15 for the test since my insurance does not deem it necessary).

 

[nikkai]

I dunno if you'd want to skimp on any of those immunizations though...

It's like buying the Pick-N-Save brand condom over a Trojan... =P

 

[UTstdnt]

If you do have to fork out the cash, I think you should just suck it up. It's really not a lot of money considering how much you say you are in debt for the first year. And you are going to be a lot more in debt by the end of your education. Sure you can try your best to keep costs down as much as possible but a requirement is a requirement and at least you are going to have a well-paying job waiting for you at the end of it all. Sometimes when I am frustrated about a cost I add up all the money I used to spend on silly things like soda and candy for a whole year and suddenly a one time immunization expense doesn't seem so bad.

 

[kellia]

Thanks everyone... I looks like I may be stuck with using the Health Dept. At least one immunization got waived, that saves a little!

 

[Corradoracer]

for chicken pox, if you had it when u were younger, they sometimes will take your word for it, but you have to call and ask them. the place i went to for shots asked me to pay 120 bucks to get immunized since they do not have the titer. fook that!!

 

[OSURxgirl]

I was lucky. I got a job as an intern at a hospital pharmacy and the hospital did all my vaccinations and TB test for free. You could look into that option if you want to work during school.

My area health dept does TB tests for free, but it sounds like yours doesn't.

It may be possible to call and set up a payment plan after you get your bill and explain to them that you cannot afford it all at once. Good luck. School is all about shelling out money. It never seems to stop!

 

[DrugDealer]

for chicken pox, if you had it when u were younger, they sometimes will take your word for it, but you have to call and ask them. the place i went to for shots asked me to pay 120 bucks to get immunized since they do not have the titer. fook that!!

Yeah, Worcester doesn't accept history of chickenpox as proof of immunity. I did the titer.

 

[flyer]

Anyone decide to go with the recommended immunizations? I figure what the heck...better to pay hundreds for immunizations than thousands for possible hospitalizations. I already received the hep A vaccine and now I will receive the meningitis and pneumococcal vaccines.

 

[aaron31981]

Anyone decide to go with the recommended immunizations? I figure what the heck...better to pay hundreds for immunizations than thousands for possible hospitalizations. I already received the hep A vaccine and now I will receive the meningitis and pneumococcal vaccines.

My school contracted with a SonoraQuest Labs to do those tests and immunizations. I think the cost was ~ $200.

I ended up getting the titers and Mantoux under my insurance that I had as a tech. I got the meningitis vaccine after 5 people from my undergrad died from meningitis (even though the strain that killed them isn't covered by the vaccine). I got the Hep B when I was in 7th grade, and apparently I still have antibodies for it (or the disease).

 

[RxFabulous]

what part of florida do you live in kellia? cause i live in st. pete/tampa and usually the health department is really cheap. i got my varicella titer for only $18, my tb for $20, and the meningococcal for $70. as for everything else i got them for free when i was a kid.

 

[kellia]

what part of florida do you live in kellia? cause i live in st. pete/tampa and usually the health department is really cheap. i got my varicella titer for only $18, my tb for $20, and the meningococcal for $70. as for everything else i got them for free when i was a kid.

I live in the same area... The price they gave me for the varicella titer was wrong, it worked out to be $19, but the price of everything else was what I quoted in my earlier message. I think they originally quoted me for the price of the varicella vaccination instead of the titer. You're lucky that you had everything else as a kid!! While I have had the Td shot before, it has expired and I needed to get it again. MMR I only had one shot as a child, so I will need to get a second or titer (that one I haven't done yet... I overlooked it-oops!) I had never had the HepB series, and the Meningitis shot I had in the past also expired (only good for 4 years). That first visit for shots wasn't too hard on me financially, but I still have two more HepB shots to get. At least that price was broken up a bit, that helped.

Thanks everyone for your help!!

 

[Lord Mithra]

Hello! Anyone else in my boat? I do not have health insurance and my pharmacy school requires a handful of immunizations/screenings prior to the first day of class. The ones I need, or need to be tested for, are Td, varicella titer, HepB, Meningococcal, and PPd screening. Even the health dept. is expensive!!! From what I've looked into, it doesn't look like I will be able to get all of these things done for less than $350. Any suggestions??? 😕

I just graduated MCPHS Worcester in 2005!! YA!

e-mail me mithralux(at)yahoo.com