Vaccines for disease | Recommendations | Clinical Guidance for Healthcare providers |
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Routine vaccines | Make sure you are up-to-date on all routine vaccines before every trip. Some of these vaccines include Chickenpox (Varicella)Diphtheria-Tetanus-PertussisFlu (influenza)Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR)PolioShingles | Immunization schedules |
COVID-19 | All eligible travelers should be up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines. Please see Your COVID-19 Vaccination for more information. | COVID-19 vaccine |
Hepatitis A | Recommended for unvaccinated travelers one year old or older going to Costa Rica. Infants 6 to 11 months old should also be vaccinated against Hepatitis A. The dose does not count toward the routine 2-dose series. Travelers allergic to a vaccine component or who are younger than 6 months should receive a single dose of immune globulin, which provides effective protection for up to 2 months depending on dosage given. Unvaccinated travelers who are over 40 years old, immunocompromised, or have chronic medical conditions planning to depart to a risk area in less than 2 weeks should get the initial dose of vaccine and at the same appointment receive immune globulin. | Hepatitis A – CDC Yellow BookDosing info – Hep A |
Hepatitis B | Recommended for unvaccinated travelers younger than 60 years old traveling to Costa Rica. Unvaccinated travelers 60 years and older may get vaccinated before traveling to Costa Rica. | Hepatitis B – CDC Yellow BookDosing info – Hep B |
Malaria | CDC recommends that travelers going to certain areas of Costa Rica take prescription medicine to prevent malaria. Depending on the medicine you take, you will need to start taking this medicine multiple days before your trip, as well as during and after your trip. Talk to your doctor about which malaria medication you should take. Find country-specific information about malaria. | Malaria – CDC Yellow BookConsiderations when choosing a drug for malaria prophylaxis (CDC Yellow Book)Malaria information for Costa Rica. |
Measles | Cases of measles are on the rise worldwide. Travelers are at risk of measles if they have not been fully vaccinated at least two weeks prior to departure, or have not had measles in the past, and travel internationally to areas where measles is spreading. All international travelers should be fully vaccinated against measles with the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, including an early dose for infants 6–11 months, according to CDC’s measles vaccination recommendations for international travel. | Measles (Rubeola) – CDC Yellow Book |
Rabies | Costa Rica is free of dog rabies. However, rabies may still be present in wildlife species, particularly bats. CDC recommends rabies vaccination before travel only for people working directly with wildlife. These people may include veterinarians, animal handlers, field biologists, or laboratory workers working with specimens from mammalian species. | Rabies – CDC Yellow Book |
Typhoid | Recommended for most travelers, especially those staying with friends or relatives or visiting smaller cities or rural areas. | Typhoid – CDC Yellow BookDosing info – Typhoid |
Yellow Fever | Required for travelers ≥9 months old arriving from countries with risk for YF virus transmission.1 Included in this requirement are travelers arriving from Tanzania and Zambia, and designated areas of: Colombia (the entire country, except the cities of Barranquilla, Bogotá, Cali, Cartagena, and Medellín, and the archipelago department, San Andrés and Providencia); Ecuador (the provinces of Morona-Santiago, Napo, Orellana, Pastaza, Sucumbíos, and Zamora-Chinchipe, and excluding the rest of the country); Paraguay (the entire country, except the city of Asunción); Peru (the entire country, except the cities of Cusco and Lima, the regions of Cajamarca, Lambayeque, Piura, and Tumbes, and the highland tourist areas of Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail); Trinidad & Tobago (the entire country, except the urban areas of Port of Spain; travelers with itineraries limited to the island of Tobago, and travelers with airport transits or layovers are also exempt from this requirement). Travelers arriving from Argentina and Panama are exempt from this requirement. | Yellow Fever – CDC Yellow Book |