The worst possible Travel Vaccination Consultation ever
A too good to be true 5 star review about travel vaccination here caused a nightmare for me and my wife.
I'm 73 years old and legally blind, so my wife had to suffer the worst experience and daily AFib episodes since my appointment with Wen Cheng;FNP on May 12, 2025.
The appointment was short (less than 10 minutes) and rushed, Wen Cheng was there all by herself, no patient before nor after us (we arrived 15 minutes early, yet waited outside with no one at front desk, hoping to squeeze my wife in for her travel vaccination consultation, due to no time slots left online.)
She told us we could get all travel vaccination info on CDC site, like she did and that's all she could advise us, my wife told her she did so several times already but due to Tanzania requires Yellow Fever vaccination certificate when entry from Kenya, she told us Yellow Fever vaccine is not available from her clinic, and anywhere else, per her patient it would take a month to get it ordered, and she was surprised that we asked for COVID vaccine, that we didn't know COVID is OVER!
We found out CVS and MINUTECLINIC both are NOT listed in CDC's Yellow Fever clinic list, even a very small VM pharmacy in Cerritos where we got our COVID booster without feeling the shots is on the list.
If she's knowledgeable and qualified in providing travel vaccination consultation, she should have mentioned that because my age, the Yellow Fever vaccine is not recommended, waiver certificates for being over 60 years old were promptly provided by Costco for both of us without asking.)
Sadly, after we repeatedly said that the travel consultation is for Tanzania and Kenya, after my wife asked her to go down the list of recommended vaccines for Tanzania and Kenya on CDC's site, and see what vaccines we should get and she could provide for us, she reluctantly get on CDC's site and went straight to South Africa instead of Tanzania nor Kenya.
She told us we still need to pay for any and all vaccines at her clinic, even after my wife told her Aetna's rep over the phone already verified all the vaccines my wife got from CDC's sites for Tanzania and Kenya are fully covered.
She totally failed to offer me any help in Travel Vaccination Consultation, no prescriptions at all for any vaccine (maybe due to I was not willing to pay out of pocket, when it's covered by my part D insurance and part B by Medicare?)
She still charged me $71 and maybe to justify charging me $71 for nothing she could provide me on travel vaccination, she prescribed a couple medications we didn't ask for (we didn't trust her at all, and told Costco Pharmacy I won't get the medication she prescribed.)
After my wife complained and requested refund of $71 to MINUTECLINIC on 5/16, a text for a never mentioned $29 remaining bill came from MINUTECLINIC, MINUTECLINIC on 5/17! More calls to MINUTECLINIC, till 6/2 Cassandra, supervisor of Patient Support given my wife a CRM#5981341, that the escalated case was reviewed by and decided by owners of the Seal Beach location, they
refused to refund $71, and refused to waive $29, even though Wen Cheng left voice message apologized and she'll try to get her manager to refunded/waived that $29 on May18.
Our need of travel vaccination is now being met with purchasing two $39.99/pp from Costco.com under Pharmacy, Safegard sent a comprehensive questionnaire took us a few days to complete, after submitting the completed questionnaire to their physician to review on Friday, Costco pharmacist from Cypress called on Saturday after they received the results and prescriptions from physician Tavi Patel, Thuy spent almost one hour for two separate calls in additional consultations and planning of over 20 different vaccines and medications for my wife and I, and we both had max 4 vaccines per person per visit done on 6/2, including COVID vaccine, which unfortunately is NOT over yet!
On June 2nd, Veronica the most beautiful pharmacist per my wife, a very nice, knowledgeable, organized and efficient pharmacist in Costco pharmacy patiently consulted with us again, prepared and administered 4 various vaccine shots for each of us and extremely carefully cautioned us with Vivotif oral vaccine for Typhoid, that it needs to be refrigerated right after we get back home and how to take it!
Due to all the days we wasted with CVS (our vaccination appointments made online on May 11 for May 13, then on May 11, texts one by one from CVS that Rabies vaccine then later the Hepatitis A&B vaccine were removed only Typhoid is available, all with no reason) and by no help from MINUTECLINIC in Seal Beach, we don't have 30 days before our trip on June 29 to get the 2nd shot for Twinrix, the 1st shot on June 2nd will NOT give us full protection we very much needed. Thanks to CVS and MINUTECLINIC in Seal Beach!!
Posted by Liz Chow for William Chow read more