Vaccinations required for travel to Panama
If you are thinking of traveling to Panama and you are thinking of visiting areas like San Blas or Darien, one thing you should not forget is the vaccinations you will need to get.
We always make the required visit to the International Vaccination Center one month before traveling.
And it is in this centre (there are in all the provinces of Spain) where we are told, and vaccinated against the different diseases that can be contracted depending on the destination we are going to.
If your destination is Panama, there are several vaccinations that are recommended.
At this point, I have to say that everyone is free to get vaccinated or not.
We always do, since we think that prevention is better than cure.
I also have to say, that what is exposed here are the recommended vaccinations, and that to get vaccinated, you will need to go to a medical center.
Vaccination booklet
This is the booklet that we all have since we were children and that indicates the vaccines that have been given to us throughout our lives.
It is very important to have this information and take it to the International Vaccination Center in case there are any vaccination reminders to be given.
If you are a regular traveler, you will know that some vaccines need to be retaken after two or three years.
With the booklet you will have all this information updated.
Yellow Fever
The only vaccine that is mandatory is the yellow fever vaccine, but only if you arrive in Panama from a country where this disease is considered endemic.
Anyway if you are going to visit the following areas of Panama, you should also get it; Panama Canal, Colon Province, Darien Province, Guna Yala (we visit this area, San Blas Islands, a paradise.) or Balboa Islands.
This vaccine must be given at least ten times before your trip to the country.
Since this is the time that is considered necessary to make our organism immune to this disease.
It should not be given to children under one year of age.
And it is obligatory to take with you the certificate where it is indicated that you are vaccinated against yellow fever.
Recommended vaccinations
In addition to the yellow fever vaccine, you should be vaccinated for the triple virus, hepatitis A and B, and tetanus-diphtheria.
It is also recommended to be vaccinated against malaria if you are going to travel to the borders with Costa Rica and Colombia.
Another vaccine that is recommended is typhoid fever, especially if you are traveling in more rural areas.
In any case, when you go to the International Vaccination Center, depending on the route you are going to take, they will tell you which vaccines you need to get.
As for the Zika virus, it is recommended that pregnant women avoid, especially the area of the San Blas islands.
Mosquitoes
In tropical countries, mosquitoes often carry diseases such as Dengue or Malaria.
In the case of Panama there is no epidemic of either disease.
But you do have to be careful with mosquitoes.
Carry an extra strong repellent against mosquitoes.
If you can, bring your own mosquito net, it takes up almost nothing and it’s cheap too.
Although in many lodgings in Panama there are mosquito nets, in others not, and the bites are very annoying, I tell you this from experience.
The mosquitoes are most active at dusk and dawn.
So I recommend you wear long pants and long sleeves.
Finally, it never hurts to bring your own basic first aid kit, you can check out this link, where we tell you which is the basic first aid kit we usually carry on our trips.
Other
Panamanian authorities offer travel insurance in case of a medical emergency during the first 30 days of your stay in the country with coverage of up to $20,000 for accidental death, hospitalization and medical expenses for injuries.
To make use of this insurance you must present your passport and entry stamp at the health center.
Don’t forget to notify your credit institution and/or bank account executive that you will be traveling to Panama, so that they can inform you of the procedures in case of theft or loss, or problems you might face when withdrawing money with your cards abroad.
For more advice by subject and/or type of traveler, visit the recommendations section of this guide.
Panama Travel Insurance
Wherever you go it is very important to carry travel insurance, and to travel to Panama you should also take out travel insurance that suits your needs.
We always travel with IATI travel insurance.
We tell you the different options for travel insurance with IATI in this link, Travel Insurance to Panama.
Travel insurance Panama
I always say, prevention is better than cure, and travel insurance with the little money it costs with respect to travel is worth taking out, because if you have any mishaps, you are covered.
And Panama is not exactly cheap if you have to go to a hospital, a bill can be really high, and end up with your savings.
I wouldn’t risk it.
For a few years now, we have always taken out travel insurance with IATI, the truth is that we have not had any reason to complain, so we continue to recommend it.
If you hire it through this link, you will get a 5% discount.
You can take a look at the following link where we explain in more detail how to hire the best travel insurance to Panama.
