When you have a list of 27 places that you might travel to, the vaccination plan becomes a project of its own. Reading through CDC recommendations became complicated enough that I had to put together a tracking spreadsheet. It was either that or one of those serial killer tracking bulletin boards with strings and push pins. Reviewing that spreadsheet with fresh eyes I see that the final determination column resembles the output of a magic 8 ball. Trying to determine if we should or shouldn’t get certain vaccines might as well have been decided in that manner.

Picking Our Poison

Ultimately we had to narrow down a likely route of a dozen or less places and work through the unique vaccines across those destinations. Then with the vaccines identified for those places, we had to decide which are worth getting. It was on some of that analysis where a magic 8 ball would help. Some vaccines we chose not to get are rabies, tick-borne encephalitis, cholera, and covid. That’s either because the odds of getting it are so low, we don’t care if we get it, or you still need treatment even if you get it (rabies).

Where (Not) To Get Vaccines

After getting our research together, we got a tip that we should go to Passport Health to get these vaccines. We did that, and the facility and staff were fantastic. The nurse walked us through everything for each likely destination giving input on what we should or shouldn’t get. We weren’t rushed and it was amazing customer service. However, the cost was astronomical. Passport Health doesn’t work with insurance at all, so I would recommend them only if you are traveling for work and your company is picking up the bill.

Kroger (little clinic) had slightly cheaper prices, but most of the cost was unavoidable because insurance is not going to cover many of these vaccines anyway. I don’t even fault them for that. For example the Japanese Encephalitis vaccine isn’t medically necessary even if you’re traveling to Japan. It’s very unlikely to get the disease, but if you do you’re pretty much dead. They also deny ones it seems in their best interest to approve though, such as typhoid.

Cost Breakdown

With everything we do that costs money, I view it through a FI lens. Vaccines are no exception. Whatever we do for this gap year I want to calculate it as if it’s an ongoing cost into the future to ensure that it’s sustainable by our investment income. This is how those costs break down with that in mind.

Vaccine	Total Cost At Vaccination	Immunity Length	Monthly Cost (Sinking Fund)	Notes
Japanese Encephalitis	$374.44 x 3 doses x 4 people = $4,493.28	10 years	$37.45	This is the kroger little clinic price. Passport Health is $549/dose.
Chikungunya	$449 x 2 adults = $898	2 years	$37.42	Passport Health, did not shop around.
Typhoid	$185 x 4 people = $740	5 years	$12.34	Passport Health, did not shop around.
Hepatitis A/B Combo	$330 x 4 people = $1,320	30 years	$3.60	Insurance generously covers this one, saving us a whopping $3.60/month.
TDAP	$130 x 4 people = $520	10 years	$4.30	Again, insurance cover this cheap vaccine.
			==============
			$95.11

The investment amount needed to support that $95.11 monthly cost is $28,533. That’s a manageable amount for anyone pursuing FIRE who wishes to travel the world. Particularly when you consider the substantial savings in living costs in some countries. This cost could be brought down by avoiding locations with the highest vaccine costs (Japan). You may also need more in this sinking fund if you were traveling more extensively, to places at risk for yellow fever, malaria, etc. In any case, this is something you’ll want to factor into your FIRE budget if you plan to continuously slow travel the world.