Anyone turning on the TV and seeing highlights of the Australian Open tennis may have two thoughts; one is that there are plenty of places in the world that are a whole lot warmer than snowy Britain just now. The other might be the lack of any controversy over the presence of Novak Djokovic.
Things were very different a couple of years ago, when Djokovic was extradited from Australia after trying to find a loophole to enter the country – and the tournament – despite declining to be vaccinated against Covid.
Such entry requirements are no longer an issue down under, with similar mandates having been dropped all over the world.
That means if you do fancy a sunny winter getaway instead of waiting months for the British weather to warm up, you won’t need to visit a travel vaccine clinic to get a Covid jab, or carry a certificate to show you have previously had one. But that does not mean you don’t need any vaccinations at all.
While you could visit lots of countries with no jabs at all, including Australia, there are some places in which it is either mandatory or at least highly advised to get a vaccination for particular common diseases.
For example, there are many countries in the topics where yellow fever is an issue. This includes much of sub-Saharan Africa, parts of South America, Central America and the Caribbean island of Trinidad. In some cases, a certificate to show you have been vaccinated is mandatory when entering a country. The vaccine gives lifelong protection.
The virus is a nasty one that occasionally causes death, but always very unpleasant illness, including fever, nausea, vomiting and sometimes jaundice, which is where the name comes from.
Caused by mosquito bites, so it is clearly important to avoid it if at all possible, although there are people who cannot get the jab, such as the very young, those with weakened immune systems and those with allergies to the egg-based ingredients.
Other common vaccination requirements include hepatitis A, which is a water-borne infection commonly found in some countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. While most people who get it do recover within a few months, the symptoms in the meantime – fever, tummy trouble and muscle aches to name but there – mean this is another to avoid.
Typhoid is a high risk in the same parts of the world as hepatitis A, with Britons who go abroad being most likely to contract it from visits to South Asian countries like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. If untreated, the fever can worsen and become life-threatening.
There are two types of typhoid vaccination, one of which is given in pill form (no doubt to the relief of anyone scared of needles). You can also get a combined typhoid/hepatitis A vaccine.
In a world where vaccine scepticism has been dangerously high in recent years, it is vital to take these health threats very seriously, even if not all the at-risk countries you might visit make vaccination mandatory. Wherever in the world you plan to go, it is important to check what you may need to take.