This morning we had a 9:30 date with the doctor to get immunizations for typhoid fever (endemic to all of Central and South America) and yellow fever (endemic to tropical rainforest areas of South America). While needle jabs are not usually the greatest way to start your morning, the time slot meant Brie didn’t have to be at work until afterward, so we took advantage of the opportunity to catch up on some Zs. Here are some highlights of our appointment at the Wake County Health Clinic:

1. We were not the only ones with a 9:30 appointment. The 60 seat waiting room was approximately 75% full, mostly with children, so we got to watch a sweet animated show on Nick Jr. about some kind of talking flying insects while we waited to be called back.
2. Our “travel specialist” nurse told us about the places she would go in her RV if she won a million dollars in the lottery (she was thoughtful enough to point out “that’s around $680,000 because some guy in Chapel Hill won and that’s what they said he got after taxes.”). Through conversation, she then revealed that she wasn’t really sure where Baja was, or Belize, or Bolivia. (Note: I do not think you need to know these things, I just thought maybe a “travel specialist” ought to.) However, she was quite good at sticking needles into arms.
3. Turns out they offer typhoid vaccine in a pill. AND it’s cheaper than the injection. AND it lasts five years versus the injection’s two years. So why is the injection still even manufactured?
4. Pictures!

Not to get you guys excited or anything, but there will be a more lengthy post on infectious diseases of the Americas at a later point in time. I know, you can hardly wait.