Vancouver Clinic: Adacel/TD Booster

[norftown 0]

My fiancee just went to the doctors and she read the doctor what it said on the woking medical site and he gave her a Td shot instead of a Tdap. She couldn't remember the last time she had a tetanus shot and I guess his thinking was that she needed a regular shot and not a booster. Here's what the Woking Medical site says:

"TETANUS

Get Tdap (Adacel) NOT JUST Td

If your Tetanus (Td) shot was MORE than 2 years ago, you need a Tdap (Adacel) booster.

If your Tetanus (Td) shot was LESS than 2 years ago, you DO NOT need a Tdap booster."

So since her Td shot was this past week, "LESS than 2 years ago", does this mean she doesn't need the Tdap booster? Why wouldn't everyone just get the Td shot then because once you get a Td shot you are now "Less than 2 years" for your shot?

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

I just received the Adacel shot on Friday. It was $65 overall, as it had to be done at a travel clinic.

I had initially called the public health unit as well and was received with complete bafflement as to why I would need Adacel, as opposed to just a tetanus shot (which, on its own, is free I believe). Nevertheless, after they realized it was specifically for immigration, they referred me to the travel clinic.

Fortunately my mother still had my initial MMR etc. immunization documents from twenty-five years ago, so I don't need a titre test.

[norftown 0]

Well she called the nurses line and they said its an entirely different shot and she would be ok getting the Tdap this week. From what I read online its the same as a Td tetanus shot, but with another vaccination for whooping cough. So wouldn't she be getting too much vaccination for whatever is in Td (lock jaw, etc.)? I would rather her not have to get any more vaccination than she has to for obvious reasons, but we also don't want to get to the medical and they fail her because she only got the Td last week. Shes so anxious she said she was just going to get it, but I really don't want her getting ill from it.

[Avery 0]

For those who asked about Montreal medicals:

We had our medical on October 6, 2009. We did not have to have to get them done in advance. I did have to get a new TD shot at the cost of $25. It was just the TD shot.

=D

[Rustbelt 0]

My wife had her medical in TO. She'd had titres done and updated shots as appropriate, one of which was the TD booster. That was perfectly acceptable to the medical folks. It was done almost a year ago back when we were optimistic and thought the whole process would be done by early summer.

[Danu 19]

Yes, but for some reason in Vancouver its different...I don't know why, but someone had to go get the Tdap, even though the paperwork only says Td or Tdap, so a Td would have been fine....except there. So in MTL and TO, Td is fine, but if you are going to the one in Vancouver they may ask you to get the correct one. Not sure if they would when she just had it a couple weeks ago though.

[simistar 2]

Yes, but for some reason in Vancouver its different...I don't know why, but someone had to go get the Tdap, even though the paperwork only says Td or Tdap, so a Td would have been fine....except there. So in MTL and TO, Td is fine, but if you are going to the one in Vancouver they may ask you to get the correct one. Not sure if they would when she just had it a couple weeks ago though.

I concur -- I had my medical a couple weeks ago and the Vancouver clinic is pretty clear about you having to get the Tdap...

I just got one from my GP... I let him know ahead of time that I needed that particular kind and he said that's the kind they stock in his office anyway...and I didn't have to pay anything extra...

But maybe someone who got just the Td and had their exam in Vancouver can report back on whether they were told to go get the Tdap as well...?

Edited October 19, 2009 by simistar

[housewife 1]

I'm going to jump in here with some thoughts about why it's different in each provence.

Montreal (Quebec) is considered different. They govern their own medical to a certain extent.

Thankfully and yes I say thankfully, there are more private clinics here than in any other part of the country.

There was a time when Montreal (Quebec) was the only provence allowed to have private clinics (where you pay for the service, like blood test, MRI, etc, also doctors).

I know that here, there are some private clinics like Medisys which has private lab testing. Meaning you don't have to wait on line to get a test needed, like a bone scan etc. Some clinics provide MRIs, routine blood testing without going to the hospital and waiting the 4 hours to get it done. there are also excutive medical plans where you pay and don't need to wait on line to see a doctor.

I'm telling all of this so perhaps that is why it is different in each provence. Not because the US has different rules but becuase Canadian medical rules are differnt for Quebec and for the rest of Canada.

I hope this might clarify and explain something. Again not sure if that is the reason but I was at Medisys two days ago for something off topic and I asked and they said, if you don't have proof we can give you the shots at the time if you pay. I hope tha is is true.

My husband found his medical records, he was vaccinated againt TB, smallpox, that he has a some official looking paper. For the dtap he has a piece of blue paper, old, written that it is hereby certified that he received this vaccine and it's signed.

In my DH time there was no MMR he was born prior to 1956. He doesn't need it anyway.

he had chickenpox so I am going to assume all he needs is the tdap booster and I will get it from a private doctor or travel clinic ASAP even before anything comes so he can go foward with the medical. I asked at Medisys they said 1 - 2 days for appt, 48 hours for results.

RCMP clearance and I will have everything I suppose. I can't think of anything else. I have everything translated.

[FireKari 4]

I got the TDAP in ontario with no problems, sucks that they are giving you such a hard time =(

Edited August 7, 2010 by FireKari