Do I need a travel vaccination?

Do I need to get a travel vaccination ? Depending on the country you are visiting you may need to have a travel vaccination. You can visit Travel Vaccinations – NHS to see what travel vaccinations you may need if you are intending to travel.

You can also be vaccinated for flu, chicken pox, meningitis, yellow fever, tuberculosis, cholera, mpox and typhoid to name a few. If you are not sure of your vaccination history check with your GP.

Some local pharmacies in the UK also offer a service for travel vaccinations.

Boots offers the following vaccinations :-

 • Cholera* / • Hepatitis A* / • Hepatitis B / • Japanese encephalitis / • Meningitis ACWY / • Rabies

• Tick-borne encephalitis / • Typhoid* / • Yellow fever**

If you don’t take the appropriate precautions, your travel insurance may not cover you.

We provide info about policy excess, activities or sports, motorbikes & driving abroad GHIC, lost luggage and how to claim. Have a look through our pages, and complete the contact form if you have a question that has not been answered.

We also cover information about medical screening, and medical clearance, and Emergency Medical Assistance as well.

Foreign Travel advice from the FCDO.

What is a medical repatriation?

This is where, due to a medical condition a person needs a medical escort to accompany them home.

This could be a nurse, doctor on a commercial flight, or in even more difficult or complicated circumstances, a medical team on an air ambulance.

Whether it is a commercial or air ambulance repatriation fitness to fly will need to be confirmed for the patient before any flight can take place.

Also on commercial flight, medical clearance may be required.

What is a Medical Evacuation?

What is a medical evacuation? – This is where to a medical issue or injury a person may need to be evacuated for medical treatment due to access / location

example – ski injury, a person may have to be evacuated due to an injury and will need to be taken to hospital for treatment.

example – altitude sickness

There may be a limit on your insurance with regards to the height in metres that you are covered for. If trekking or plan to go trekking check and make sure you have the right cover for the height you may go to.

example – accident / illness in remote location

This is why it is essential that people travelling should get travel insurance, especially if taking part in sporting activities, winter sports.

Also an evacuation can happen to move a patient to a safer place, or for better medical treatment, depending on where they are in the world, especially if the level if care needed cannot be provided where they are.

Does the E111 card still exist ?

It is now known as the GHIC card. Global Health Insurance Card – so the reciprocal agreement is still in place to receive emergency medical treatment in the countries that are included.

The GHIC card does not cover private treatment, or medical repatriation, so travel insurance is definitely recommended.