If you are travelling abroad you should visit your general practice to find out which vaccines you need. Ideally this should be at least 3 months before you travel. Do not leave it until the week before you go, as many vaccines need to be given a few weeks before travelling to ensure full effectiveness.

Your practice nurse or doctor will tell you which vaccines you need to get before travelling. Some of these vaccines will be available on the NHS but others are not.

For vaccines that are not available on the NHS, your GP must write these vaccines on a private prescription. This should then be brought to a community pharmacy where it can be dispensed. A private prescription will usually be more expensive than a normal prescription charge. The GP can also charge you for the administration of these vaccines.

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