NHS Travel Vaccinations

The NHS is responsible for an extensive childhood immunisation programme that protects the residents of the UK from a number of extremely harmful conditions. Many parts of the world are not so fortunate, and there are many disease bearing bacteria and viruses across the world that cause virulent diseases that aren’t  concern for us here in the UK. Because of this travel vaccines are usually recommended to men and women looking to travel to parts of the world where diseases are endemic or epidemic.

Are all travel vaccines free on the NHS?

You can receive your travel injections from your GP if you so wish, however not all of these vaccinations are paid for by the NHS. For some you will be required to pay a small fee towards the cost of the vaccine.

What travel vaccines are free on the NHS?

Travel vaccines are covered by the NHS where the disease in question is considered a serious risk to public health and safety. These conditions are usually severe and extremely contagious, and would be likely to spread and cause a health crisis if they were to be brought into the United Kingdom. These conditions include polio (which includes vaccination for diphtheria and tetanus as the vaccine is a 3 in 1), cholera, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever.

Some practices might charge for the second dose of hep A vaccination or for the option of having a 2 in 1 hep A and hep B injection.

You will probably have to pay for other travel vaccinations like those for encephalitis, hepatitis B, yellow fever, rabies, meningococcal meningitis, and tuberculosis. You can have these at both private practices and at GPs surgeries, and while generally speaking you would be charged for these injections, some GPs may choose to waive the charge.

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