Typhoid vaccine: the shot or the capsules
Choose the shot or the capsules and your departure: the checker gives the latest start date, how long the protection lasts and the published price.
Typhoid, injection: when to start
14 days before
latest start for protection on departure day
| Doses | 1 dose |
| Protection | 14 days after the last dose |
| Published price per dose | $174 median, $140 to $203 (9 departments) |
| Series, median total with fees | $195 ($153 to $270) |
Schedule from the CDC Yellow Book (2025-04-23). Booster: Every 2 years if still at risk. Not medical advice.
| Health department | Per dose | Series with fees |
|---|---|---|
| Florida Department of Health in Lee County, FL | $140 | $162 |
| Southwest Utah Public Health Department, UT | $153 | $153 |
| County of Orange Health Care Agency, CA | $156 | $191 |
| Norwalk Health Department, CT | $160 | $200 |
| Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade County (approximate prices, 2025 list), FL | $174 | $174 |
| Fairfax County Health Department, VA | $185 | $250 |
| Tarrant County Public Health, TX | $195 | $195 |
| Denver Health Public Health Institute, CO | $200 | $270 |
| Aspetuck Health District, CT | $203 | $203 |
Compiled by Radif Partners · Method and sources · CDC pages read October 24, 2026
There are two typhoid vaccines in the United States, and both work against the same disease: Salmonella Typhi, caught from food or water. The injectable Vi vaccine is one shot, given at least two weeks before travel from the age of 2, and it protects for about two years. The oral Ty21a vaccine is four capsules, one every other day, finished at least a week before travel, from the age of 6; it protects for five years, but it is a live vaccine, it must stay in the refrigerator, and antibiotics can cancel it. Both protect 50 to 80 percent of those who receive them, so food and water care still counts. CDC lists the vaccine for most travelers to 103 destinations, with South Asia at the top of the risk, and as an option to consider for 73 more. At US county health departments the shot costs a median of $174 and the capsules $121.
Where CDC lists it
Typhoid fever is common where drinking water and sewage are not fully separated. More than 70 percent of the cases diagnosed in US travelers come back from South Asia, mostly India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and CDC lists the vaccine for most travelers there. The list of 103 destinations where it is recommended for most travelers also covers most of sub-Saharan Africa, much of Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines, and countries such as Mexico and Egypt. For 73 other destinations, such as Peru, Brazil or Costa Rica, CDC's wording is that the vaccine may be considered for travelers going to areas with poor sanitation and unsafe water, rural areas included, staying a month or more, or visiting friends or relatives.
Is typhoid on the CDC list for your trip?
Travel vaccines CDC lists for most or some travelers on this trip
5 vaccines
| Yellow fever | Required only if you arrive from a risk country (Pakistan) |
| Malaria | Prescription tablets for areas of Pakistan |
| Longest lead time | 28 days before departure (Hepatitis B, 2 doses (Heplisav-B)) |
| Published price, these vaccines | $1,405 median, $1,215 to $1,550 |
The shot: simple, two years
The injectable vaccine is a single dose in the arm. It needs 14 days to build protection, so it is the one to choose when the trip is close but not too close, and it is approved from age 2. It is not a live vaccine, so it is the typhoid option for people with a weakened immune system; CDC notes there are no safety data in pregnancy, a point for a clinician. Protection lasts about two years; a traveler who goes back to a risk area after that receives another dose. At the 9 health departments that publish a price, the shot costs $140 to $203.
The capsules: a week of discipline, five years
The oral vaccine is a box of four capsules. One is swallowed every other day, and the box stays in the refrigerator, never the freezer, between doses. The course must be finished at least a week before travel, so the first capsule is taken about 13 days before departure. Because it is a live bacterial vaccine, it is not given in pregnancy or to people with a weakened immune system, and it is held back for three days after any antibiotic, or the antibiotic kills the vaccine. In return it lasts five years. At the 6 departments that sell it, the box costs $110 to $140; some send it to a pharmacy instead of handing it over.
Typhoid capsules: are you still in time?
Typhoid, oral capsules: when to start
13 days before
| Doses | 4 capsules, days 0, 2, 4, 6 (one pack) |
| Protection | 7 days after the last dose |
| Published price per dose | $121 median, $110 to $140 (6 departments) |
| Series, median total with fees | $143 ($139 to $190) |
Which one fits
For a single trip within two years, the shot is the simpler choice: one visit, no refrigerator, no antibiotic rule. For someone who travels often, the capsules cost about the same and cover five years. Children between 2 and 6 can only have the shot. Neither vaccine is complete protection, which is why CDC repeats the same advice on every country page: food that is cooked and served hot, drinks that are bottled and sealed, and hands washed before eating.
Typhoid on the same visit as other shots
Typhoid rarely travels alone on a list. The destinations where CDC lists it for most travelers almost always list hepatitis A too, since both diseases come from the same food and water, and the two shots are usually given on the same visit, one in each arm. Some departments bill an administration fee for each injection, others include it in the price, and the oral vaccine has no injection fee at all, which can tilt the comparison for a traveler on a tight budget. Where a trip also needs yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis or rabies, the typhoid shot fits into the first visit and does not add a trip to the clinic.
What it does not cover
A traveler who falls ill with a high fever after a trip, vaccinated or not, needs to say where they traveled: typhoid is treated with antibiotics, and the strains from South Asia increasingly resist the older ones, which is one reason CDC keeps the vaccine high on its lists for that region. The vaccine also does nothing against travelers' diarrhea, hepatitis A or cholera, which spread the same way but need their own protection or simply careful habits.
The typhoid price page compares the two at each department, and the trip cost page adds typhoid to the other shots of your list.