Common Travel Vaccines

Vaccines are vital to your health. They protect you from potentially fatal diseases.

Travel vaccines protect against infections not present in the U.S. that you may come across on your travels.

Reasons to vaccinate against these diseases include:

• Other countries may not have adequate medical care.
• Your health insurance may not cover health care costs in another country.<
• The U.S. may not let you return home while infected with certain diseases. You may have to wait to come home until you're no longer contagious.

What Are the Most Common Travel Vaccines?

The three most commonly recommended travel vaccines are:

• Hepatitis A vaccine for travel to most other countries in the world. Hepatitis A is a common viral infection that you can get from contaminated water or food.
• Yellow fever vaccine for travel to some parts of Africa and South America. Yellow fever is a virus that spreads through mosquito bites.
• Typhoid vaccine for travel to countries where it's circulating. South Asian countries, such as India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, have a higher risk of typhoid. Typhoid is a disease caused by bacteria in contaminated food and water.

Based on where you're going and what you'll do, other travel vaccines you may need include:

• Rabies.
• Cholera.
• Japanese encephalitis.

New recommendations for vaccines may arise as conditions change in different countries. For instance, the CDC may urge the monkeypox vaccine if you're going to a country with an outbreak.

» See the latest disease outbreaks and health notices from the CDC.

» Find out what vaccines the country you're visiting say you should get.

How Far in Advance Should I Get Travel Vaccines?

The CDC suggests getting your travel vaccines at least one month before traveling because:

• You may need more than one dose over the course of weeks before you're fully vaccinated.
• Most vaccines take at least two weeks to take full effect.
• You may need to visit a special clinic for certain vaccines your PCP doesn't have.
• If you need the yellow fever vaccine, most countries require it at least 10 days before you depart.

Why Choose UPMC Infectious Disease for Your Travel Vaccines?

UPMC's Travel Health program:

• Offers adult travelers world-class preventive health care.
• Tailors our services to your health status and destination.
• Has infectious disease experts certified in travel and tropical medicine. They have decades of knowledge about travel vaccines and specialize in the medically complex traveler.