Do you need travel vaccination after a travel health consultation?

Travel advice is individual. The clinician considers where you are going, which areas you will visit, how long you will stay, accommodation, planned activities, season, previous vaccines, age, pregnancy and medical conditions. Some destinations may need a specific vaccine, while others may call for routine immunisations to be checked or non-vaccine precautions such as food, water and insect-bite protection. A consultation does not automatically mean that a vaccine is required.

Book the consultation as early as practical because some vaccines need more than one dose or time to build protection. Take your travel itinerary, departure date and vaccination record. Tell the clinician about allergies, long-term conditions, medicines and previous reactions. Follow the recommended schedule and ask what to do if travel is soon. Keep any written advice with your travel documents.

Seek urgent help after vaccination for trouble breathing, swelling of the face or throat, widespread dizziness or collapse. During or after travel, obtain prompt medical advice for high fever, severe diarrhoea, breathing problems, confusion or a rapidly worsening illness, and mention your destinations and travel dates.

Ask which vaccines are relevant to each stop, whether any dose is due before departure, which side effects need attention, and what precautions remain necessary even after vaccination.