Student Nurse Immunization Costing Hell!

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I am in Sacramento, and newly admitted to Sac City for this Fall class. I am just finding out that the cost of all the immunizations required for the program would top 650.00!

Is there anyone within one hundred miles of Sacramento that knows how to go about this without having to sell a kidney?

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There are some that should be free or low cost through your local health department.

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Thanks KatePasa. I am taking your advice and looking into it.

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You'll probably have to pay for the Hep A/B series, which is expensive (approx. 200, but you pay it in three installments, since the shot is a series). Depending on what your school requires, many are routine vaccinations. Just give them a call during business hours Health Department folks are usually very helpful. Your flu vax can probably be delayed until flu season, when you can get it for free at health fairs.

Also, check your student health services at your college. They may also offer it free/cheap. Good luck!

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Specializes in PICU, Sedation/Radiology, PACU.

Try community health clinics in your area. Even if you have to drive an hour to a low-cost clinic, it's cheaper than paying full price at your doctor's office. Also, if you have medical insurance, see if they cover any of it.

Were you immunized as a child? If you were, then you don't have to repeat all the immunizations- you just have to prove that your immune. That means getting titers drawn instead of going through the immunization series.

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Specializes in Ambulatory care.

check your state's department of health it would list immunization clinics. My private doctor was charging $180 for the hep B vacc .. which i said no thx i'll get it from DOH. Lots of places including schools want titers showing exactly how much antibody level you have .. now THAT one is expensive $300-400 +/- a few lab costs. google location, call or show up early in morning. Here's list of Free vacinations from NY's Department of Health are:

  • Hepatitis B vaccine
  • Hepatitis A vaccine (for high risk adults)
  • Diptheria, tetorifice & pertussis combination vaccines, including Tdap and DTaP
  • Tetorifice (Td) vaccine
  • Measles, Mumps & Rubella (MMR) combination vaccine
  • Pneumococcal (PPSV23) vaccine
  • Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine vaccine (for females 9—26 years old; males 9—18 years old)
  • Meningococcal vaccine (for children 11—18 years old)
  • Influenza vaccine (through June 30th, 2012)
  • Haemophilus influenzae (Hib) vaccine
  • Polio vaccine (for children 4 —17 years old)
  • Varicella vaccine (for children up to 18 years old only)

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Specializes in retired LTC.

What kind of vax are they requiring??? I know it's been eons since I went to school but what are they asking for? Is this common for most other schools?

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I am in Sacramento, and newly admitted to Sac City for this Fall class. I am just finding out that the cost of all the immunizations required for the program would top 650.00!

Is there anyone within one hundred miles of Sacramento that knows how to go about this without having to sell a kidney?

Did you check with your school's student health clinic?

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I am in Sacramento, and newly admitted to Sac City for this Fall class. I am just finding out that the cost of all the immunizations required for the program would top 650.00!

Is there anyone within one hundred miles of Sacramento that knows how to go about this without having to sell a kidney?

Did you have your titers drawn? Most of the immunizations that are required, are the ones that we got as children so you should not need them again.....I did not have to get any vaccinations done at all, they drew my blood and charted from there....

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Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.

Definitely check with the county health department. Also, check to see if some of them are optional - for Hep B, I had to sign a waiver that I had been educated about Hep B and refused the vaccination. (I'm still going to get the series later on, but I didn't want to pay for it at the time -- it's only about $30/shot from the health department, but would have been much more through my doctor's office.)

Also check with pharmacies -- many of them administer vaccines besides flu and pneumonia shots.

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Check ARC. Since you are a student at SCC, ARC will also serve you. SCC health clinic should be able to administer some of the vaccines there, and you can get the other ones at ARC. The nurses will also have a list of low cost vaccines nearby.

Good LUck

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Specializes in Med Surg - Renal.
I am in Sacramento, and newly admitted to Sac City for this Fall class. I am just finding out that the cost of all the immunizations required for the program would top 650.00!

Is there anyone within one hundred miles of Sacramento that knows how to go about this without having to sell a kidney?

Reason #5,792 to get a job in direct patient care before entering nursing school.

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