Vaccination and Travel Clinics in Thailand

Travel clinic, hospital vaccine clinic or emergency department

Specialist travel clinics offer a consultation about your itinerary, then vaccines, certificates and advice on malaria and other risks. Some publish a full price list per dose and are authorised to give yellow fever vaccine and certificates. Hospital vaccine clinics tend to focus on adult and child vaccines such as influenza, hepatitis B, HPV, shingles and pneumococcal, often sold as packages with a fixed price and use-by date.

After an animal bite or scratch, go to the nearest hospital emergency department or a rabies clinic the same day. Several travel and vaccine clinics are closed in the evening, on Sundays or on public holidays, so do not wait for one to open.

Plan ahead for travel vaccines

The US CDC advises seeing a doctor at least a month before a trip, and the UK government suggests checking vaccine advice at least eight weeks before travel. Some vaccines need more than one dose, spaced days or weeks apart, and some take time to give protection.

For Thailand, the CDC recommends hepatitis A for unvaccinated travellers aged one and over and typhoid for most travellers, and asks people to keep routine vaccines such as MMR up to date. It suggests Japanese encephalitis vaccine for people moving to or spending a month or more in affected areas, or with higher-risk rural activities, but not for short city trips. It lists Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya and the Krabi islands as low or no risk for malaria.

Rabies: before travel and after a bite

Dogs with rabies are sometimes found in Thailand. The CDC says pre-exposure rabies vaccination should be decided with a healthcare provider, weighing your contact with animals and how quickly you could reach treatment. Pre-exposure vaccination does not remove the need for care after a bite, but it changes and simplifies what you need.

After any bite or scratch from a mammal, the WHO advises washing the wound with soap and water for at least 15 minutes, then getting medical care promptly. A doctor will decide whether you need vaccine alone or vaccine with rabies immunoglobulin, which some clinics and hospitals stock and others may need to source. Keep a written record of every dose and the dates of the doses still due, especially if you will finish the course elsewhere.

Yellow fever and certificates

According to the CDC, Thailand requires proof of yellow fever vaccination from travellers aged nine months and over arriving from countries with a risk of yellow fever, including those with a layover of more than 12 hours in such a country. It is not required for direct travel from countries without that risk. If you need a certificate, use an authorised yellow fever vaccination centre and bring your passport.

For other vaccines, ask the clinic to record each dose, the brand and the batch in an international certificate or vaccination booklet you can keep.

Dengue

Dengue is spread by day-biting mosquitoes and occurs across Thailand, in cities as well as the countryside. Several clinics and hospitals now list a dengue vaccine. Whether it suits you depends on your age, health and history, so discuss it with a doctor; avoiding mosquito bites remains the main protection.

Prices and what they include

Published prices are presented in different ways, so compare like with like.

• Per dose, or for a full course
• Whether the doctor's consultation, hospital fee and injection fee are included
• Which brand of vaccine the price refers to
• Whether a promotional price is limited to Thai residents
• The use-by date of any pre-paid package
• Whether the vaccine is in stock on the day you plan to visit