If you only travel to Europe and North America you probably won’t ever need to concern yourself with vaccines, apart from tetanus.
However, if you travel to Asia, Africa or Latin America you will end up needing vaccines of some kind.
Getting vaccinations isn’t fun. While medical techniques have evolved a lot over the years, there’s still no way to completely avoid getting jabbed with needles. Sure, some vaccines can be given orally either as a pill or dissolved in water, but the bulk of more serious vaccines still come via some form of injection.
But the last thing you want (or need) is to end up coming down with something potentially crippling that you could easily have avoided. Getting vaccinated can be a pain (literally!) but it’s a lot better than the alternative!
So which vaccines will you need?
It’ll depend on where you’re going AND what you’re planning on doing. So if you’re going to be just hanging out a conference hotel your level of risk is probably a lot lower than someone who plans to spend time communing with nature out in the middle of a field!
The Tropical Medical Bureau has a handy checklist by country which makes it pretty easy. And if you want a completely neutral list the Irish government’s Department of Foreign Affairs provides details on a per country basis too, though they also include a lot of extra information not related to vaccines.
Once you get vaccines you’ll be issued with a “vaccine passport” by your doctor which keeps a record of which ones you have and how long they’re valid for along with some other details. You will be asked to present that for entry into some countries, though mostly it’s for your own peace of mind.
And people think that business travel is fun!
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