Getting vaccinated is considered to be one of the most important things we can do in order to protect ourselves and our families against ill health. Did you know that vaccines prevent up to 3 million worldwide deaths every year! In 2019, the World Health Organisation (WHO) listed ‘vaccine hesitancy’ as one of the biggest threats to global health. The importance of getting inoculated has never been more important. Since vaccines were introduced in the UK diseases such as smallpox, polio, and tetanus that use to disable or even kill millions of people are either gone or now only occasionally seen.
Vaccines protect travellers from serious diseases. Depending on where you travel, you may come into contact with diseases that are rare in the UK, like yellow fever and Meningococcal Meningitis ACWY. Some vaccines may also be required for you to travel to certain places like going on a pilgrimage to Hajj and Umrah.
Getting vaccinated will help keep you safe and healthy while you’re traveling. It will also help make sure that you don’t bring any serious diseases home to your family, friends, and community.
Once a person is vaccinated against a disease their body can fight the disease off better. Being immunised protects the person and others around them from infection. This is called herd immunity.
If a person is not vaccinated they are at a higher risk of catching a disease and becoming very ill from the disease.
The vaccines you need to get before traveling will depend on few things, including:
It’s important to get vaccinated at least 4 to 6 weeks before you travel. This will give the vaccines time to start working, so you’re protected while you’re travelling. It will also ensure there’s enough time for you to get vaccines that require multiple doses. Click here to see time guideline for your upcoming destination visit.