How Far In Advance Of A Trip Should You Visit A Travel Health Clinic?

It’s that time of year when many of you start to turn your attention to your summer holidays. But if you are jetting off somewhere exotic, it’s important to ensure you are up to date with all of your vaccinations. 

This is a task that can be easy to leave until the last minute, but beware! If you don’t book an appointment with your local travel health clinic well in advance, you could face unnecessary stress to get all the vaccinations you need. 

How far ahead of an overseas trip should you visit a travel health clinic?

Ideally, you should go for your appointment with your local travel health clinic between six and eight weeks before you travel overseas. 

This might seem like a long way in advance, but it’s important to find out what vaccinations you need for your destination early, as some conditions require multiple vaccines spread across the course of weeks to give you optimum protection.

What travel vaccines require more than one dose?

There are a number of travel vaccines that need to be administered across more than one dose and the time between each injection can also vary. 

Some of the most common travel vaccines that require multiple doses are:

• Rabies
• Japanese encephalitis
• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B

The rabies vaccine, for instance, is administered in three doses. These injections should ideally be given over a period of three to four weeks, although there is an accelerated schedule available if you are too close to the date of departure. 

Similarly, Japanese encephalitis vaccination is carried out across two doses, which are 28 days apart. 

There is a combined Hepatitis A and B vaccine available, which is given over three to four doses depending on the specific brand that is used. These injections are usually spaced out over a period of six months.

However, there is an accelerated schedule where three doses are administered over the course of 21 days, with a fourth booster dose at 12 months to provide long-lasting protection. 

Are there other reasons to visit a travel health clinic early?

It is always sensible to visit your travel health clinic as far in advance of your trip as is practical because this gives you time to not only have all of your vaccinations, but to check whether there are any other health risks you need to be aware of.

The longer you give yourself for your vaccinations, the easier it is to spread them out too. This simply means you can space out your injections so you aren’t having to receive three different injections in a single appointment, for instance.  

When you first visit a travel health clinic, you can also find out about other medications you may need to purchase and take, such as anti-malarials. 

By booking your visit to the travel health clinic well in advance, you also give the pharmacy time to source any vaccinations or medications that they may not have in stock at the time of your initial appointment.