Spring break is less than a month away. If you or your employees are preparing for some well-deserved time off from work to enjoy a dream vacation, make sure they add travel vaccines to their checklists.

The vaccines you need depend on a few things — where you’re going, what activities you’ll be doing and what the country requires versus what they recommend. Vaccines protect people from illnesses that could be prevalent in the areas they’re visiting.

“All environments are different, and it is important to know what you may encounter when traveling. The vaccines also protect people who are native to that area from a person bringing illness into the country,” said Ali Sanchez, clinical services manager at Mesa County Public Health. “Like all vaccines, they protect the person who received it and those around them.”

The safest thing to keep in mind if you’re planning to leave the country is to check into vaccines that could be required for entry. If you’re traveling to Costa Rica, for example, two recommended vaccines are hepatitis A and typhoid.

Mesa County Public Health operates the only full-service travel vaccine clinic between Denver and Salt Lake City. In 2023, public health clinic nurses provided about 425 travel vaccinations.

Our nurses are experts when it comes to travel vaccines. They determine what’s needed depending on where people are going. The nurses research and stay up to date on all the recommendations and requirements. We offer a wide range of vaccines, from polio to malaria to Japanese encephalitis. We have a full list of available vaccines on our website at mesacounty.us/public-health.

Keep in mind some immunizations are administered over the course of several appointments. It’s better to contact us as soon as possible before your trip. Call us at (970) 248-6900 to make an appointment.

“Our nurses can do consultations in the office or over the phone, and we are happy to do the research and leg work so the patient has all of the information needed to make an informed decision,” Sanchez said.

Whether you’re traveling for spring break or already looking ahead to the summer, we can take the guesswork out of travel vaccines so you and your employees can focus on enjoying your time off from work.