Pricing Of Vaccines For Infants

[jayinoz]

In the past I have found HUGE differences in Vaccine pricing. Any places of trust that parents in Chiang Mai can recommend. As our free Vaccines in Aussie at 2, 4 months costed a fortune at 6 months.We came when my son was near 6 month and regretted a 12K bt bill. Whereas would have been free in Aussie.Now at the year mark- Chicken Pox 3000bt, Min, Mynaccohol 4500bt, Japan Flu 1500bt... Seems high to me.Can any government hospitals do them for less? Or a clinic that is not so expensive.CheersJay

[MikeyIdea]

Yepp, I saw the same in Bangkok. Samitivej charges nearly twice as much as Latprao hospital. The doctor at Latprao ensured me that it is exactly the same thing - and she also volunteered the information that it's can be much cheaper again at clinics and government hospitals if they give generic brands that in her opinion are not as good. I agree with everything she said

Don't know about Chieng Mai, I'd advice not the most famous hospitals in town and not a smaller clinic - somewhere in between. Tell the doctor that you do not want the generic vaccine. Thinking of it, it is fairly common that the Thais call around and ask for the price, why not set the mother on doing the same. She should clearly say that she doesn't want generic vaccines though. วัคซีน ของแท้ ไม่ใช่ของเลียนแบบ

Good Luck

[Mario2008]

Private hospital and to a lesser extent clinics will always be more expensive regarding medicine. Just go to a government hospital and it will be fine and much cheaper.

The provincial government hospital in Chiang Mai, at Suan Dok, is good. Remember that that hospital has two parts, a private one where you go up to the 11th (?) floor and the government part.

[MikeyIdea]

I do think that government hospitals in Thailand are perfectly OK, it doesn't show clearly enough in what I write, sorry. Waiting times and often not using "name brand" imported medicines are understandable differences considering how cheap government hospitals are, I think that the doctors and the treatment you get is pretty much the same apart from that (unlike what many westerners think). You can always ask for original instead of generic medicines there too, may or may not have

[sinbin]

Surely if the child has Thai nationality all vaccines given at Government hospitals are free. I don't pay anything for my kids. Or are we talking about extra vaccines that aren't the norm ?

[MikeyIdea]

A friend of mine had to pay for (some?) vaccines also at government hospital in BKK, I don't know if the vaccine was extra or part of the standard set. I wouldn't mind paying extra to get original vaccines for my daughter, I find that generic medicines clearly are not as good as the original stuff, I have no reason to believe that it does not apply to vaccines too. Saying that though, I am sure that the vaccines given at government hospitals are OK

[BuddhistDruid]

Do be advised that at many government hospitals you will have to go through a lengthy procedure to try and preorder the optional vaccines. You may have to pay up front and come back in several weeks (if they can actually remember to order the medicine that is). They only carry the government mandated ones in stock.

We have tried 5 government hospitals for our twins, as the vaccine cost was 1400 baht vs. 4000+ at the private ones. A huge difference when you have to buy 2.

The only hospital we have found that reliably has the optional vaccines in stock is Chulalongkorn, so we make the drive down there despite being terribly inconvenient. We wasted 3 weeks last month trying to find it at a closer hospital before we finally gave up and went back there.

I would check with Maharaj first before just assuming they have it available. University hospitals like Thammasat certainly don't, so there is no guarantee they will have it either.

Also, make sure you call ahead to the government hospital and find out on what day they do vaccines. It is usually only done on 1 day out of the week.

[chris5346]

hello,

we have the vaccinations done at sriphat hospital in chiang mai and all recommended ones totaled 4000 Baht, you have optional extras for rotavirus and something else that cost maybe another 10,000 baht.

had to got hospital 3 or 4 times so far for injections over the past 4 months - i think there's more to come also.

i think it's a slightly differen system here than other countries.

if you want i can check our papers and give you better detail.

there were also some injections at time of birth - maybe not vaccinations vit amin K ,

is your baby born yet ? there's different options for you - i didn't want too many injections at time of birth so got the TB etc done few weeks later - TB one leaves a scar either on bum or arm.

each time we go too see doctor and get vacinations etc costs approx. 1000 BAht .

chris

[SNGLIFE]

We just had our son in April and bought a vaccine "package" deal which includes everything except the really rare vaccines (as in you'd have to be living in the jungle). I do not recall exactly, but at the time I calculated a savings of over 30% versus paying as individual shots.

I had long-term experience and trust with the hospital (Bangkok-Pattaya Hospital) and care offered. I think that is the measure one should look at when it comes to one's children - not a label or price tag.

The care thus far has been first class. All the doctors and nurses know and remember us on sight. He is quite the celebrity due to his unique looks and awesome demeanor *beaming with pride*!

[elektrified]

Go to Dr. Morgan's clinic on the Hang Dong Road. She will save you a bundle! We take our baby there for all his vaccines. Japan Flu I believe was 630 Baht last week (series of 2 injections - 3 months apart required). Very nice, kind and caring Doctor who speaks perfect fluent English. Highest possible recommendation.

Edited November 28, 2010 by elektrified

[elektrified]

Surely if the child has Thai nationality all vaccines given at Government hospitals are free. I don't pay anything for my kids. Or are we talking about extra vaccines that aren't the norm ?

That is not true. If you got by without paying, consider yourself lucky. My kid has a gold card since he is a Thai citizen as well and vaccines are not covered.

[BuddhistDruid]

Surely if the child has Thai nationality all vaccines given at Government hospitals are free. I don't pay anything for my kids. Or are we talking about extra vaccines that aren't the norm ?

That is not true. If you got by without paying, consider yourself lucky. My kid has a gold card since he is a Thai citizen as well and vaccines are not covered.

Basic vaccines are covered under the gold card scheme, but basic is extremely basic. I can't remember off the top of my head which ones were free, but it was very small. Nearly everyone opts for at least some supplemental vaccines for their children as well, and the doctors highly recommend it as well.

At Chulangkorn, we paid about 1400 baht per child per injection for the optional vaccines (it came as a single bundle shot). At a private hospital, it would have cost over 4000 for the same thing.

So, to answer sinbin's question, we are talking about extra vaccines, but extra vaccines that are the norm in most places. It is possible that some of the truly remote upcountry hospitals simply have no supplemental/non covered vaccines in stock, and thus don't even give the option to their clients.

Chula presented us an entire A4 page menu of vaccines and their cost. Very few were marked "free".