Blog: Health Matters

In this second of a three-blog series on travel readiness, we are going to look at the importance of travel vaccination.  

Vaccinations can be classed as follows:

(*) Vaccination schedules differ from country to country, and it is therefore important to ensure that the traveler is knowledgeable of the risks of the destination country.

(**) Very specific to certain countries.

(***) Only available from designated centers.

Let us look at a few of the vaccinations in more detail:

• Polio:
  • If you have never been vaccinated against polio, you will need to receive three doses: the first at day 0, the second after one to two months, and the third after six to twelve months.
  • Polio vaccination is recommended to everyone who has not received all the basic vaccinations, as well as anyone aged 16 years and older travelling to Asia or Africa who has not had a booster vaccination yet.
  • For more information, please refer to Polio Vaccination Recommendations for Specific Groups.
• Yellow fever:
  • Yellow fever is a required vaccination for entry into certain countries, and entry will be refused if a traveler does not have a yellow fever certificate.        
• Hepatitis A & B:
  • Allow enough time for proper vaccination. Full protection against Hepatitis B will only be obtained after the third vaccination. Travel can safely take place after the second injection, when an individual will have 80% protection.  
  • In some countries, childhood vaccination programs include Hepatitis A & B vaccinations.  
• Childhood vaccinations:
  • Always ensure that you are up to date with all the childhood vaccinations and the suggested boosters.  

This was part 2 of a 3 part series, the other blogs can be found here:

Part 1

Part 3 

Sources:

https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241580472

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel

Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde