Spring is the time when many people start booking flights, ordering hotels and making the arrangements to ensure they can have a stress-free holiday.
One of the first places they should go is to a travel health clinic to ensure that they are up to date with their vaccinations and check to see if they need to book any additional immunisations before they reach their destination.
The biggest reason why people book travel vaccinations is out of necessity; some countries will require proof of immunisation against conditions such as meningitis, particularly when travelling to large gatherings and events.
However, there are many other reasons beyond legal requirements for why people should make certain they have the travel vaccines they need. Here are some of the biggest dangers of not being fully protected.
A Greater Risk Of Serious Illness
The travel vaccines that are available are for diseases that can be either extremely serious for people without vaccine protection or have potentially life-threatening complications that should not be risked.
For example, the rabies vaccine is rarely provided unless someone is travelling to a country or with an itinerary where there is a high risk of coming into contact with infected animals, because the disease becomes life-threatening once symptoms start to emerge.
This is also true for polio; few people who get it have symptoms but the risk of potentially life-threatening or permanent symptoms makes vaccinations essential.
Spreading Diseases
Whilst protecting oneself is an important factor in choosing to get vaccinated, it also helps to prevent an outbreak from spreading in the local community or to vulnerable people.
Many people who are not vaccinated against a disease could get infected with no symptoms and potentially cause it to spread to people who have not been or cannot be vaccinated.
These include people who are immunocompromised and cannot have live vaccines, as well as people who have an allergy to certain ingredients.
If everyone else is vaccinated when they need to be, it helps protect the most vulnerable in the community through herd immunity, which is stronger in a community the more people are protected.
This is why children and adults will often receive vaccinations for diseases that have not been
endemic in the UK for over a century, as this protection helps stop a case of infection from becoming an outbreak, an epidemic or even a pandemic.
Any Protection Is Better Than None
One of the biggest reasons why people neglect travel vaccines is due to time; either it is left to the last minute or travel is booked at the last minute, leaving little time to get prepared.
Ideally, everyone travelling should start vaccines at least two months before they travel so every necessary dose can be taken and the body can start developing antibodies. This might be longer for people with complex immunity or medical needs.
However, last minute vaccinations can still protect from some diseases that take a long time to incubate, and alongside other preventative measures can still help to keep you safe.
As with other medical or health advice, if full protection is not possible, then the next best step is to do whatever possible to give yourself the best protection.