Vaccinations

If immunisation is a requirement for travel, it’s a good idea to discuss the matter with your HIV doctor or another member of your HIV healthcare team.

It’s best to get advice about vaccinations at least eight weeks before you’re due to travel. If you do need new vaccinations, some need to be given well in advance so that they can work properly. You may feel a little unwell after the injection as some people have side effects from vaccines.

You also need to make sure your existing vaccinations for the UK are up to date, such as polio, hepatitis A and B and tetanus. If not, you can arrange booster injections.

Find out more about vaccination requirements for different countries.

Generally, you should not be given 'live' vaccines if your CD4 count is under 200 cells/ml. Some live vaccines can be given to people with higher CD4 counts, such as Yellow Fever. However, some live vaccines should never be given including Cholera, Polio, Typhoid, Tuberculosis (BCG) and Smallpox (Vaccinia) except in exceptional circumstances.

Vaccination against influenza, which occurs year-round in the tropics, is also advised for people with HIV, who are at risk of flu-related complications.

Malaria should also be considered.

You may have an increased risk of infection or experience more severe symptoms following exposure to vaccine-preventable diseases. Therefore, it may be more important for you to be vaccinated than the general population. Vaccination is often less effective in HIV positive people and you may benefit from higher or more frequent vaccine doses.

There are no known interactions between vaccines and HIV medication.

Inactivated (non-live) vaccines that may be used safely in all people with HIV:

• Cholera (WC/rBS)
• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• Japanese encephalitis
• Meningococcus
• Pneumococcus (PPV23)
• Rabies RS Travel
• Tetanus-diphtheria-parenteral
• Poliomyelitis (Td/IPV)
• Tick-borne encephalitis
• Typhoid (ViCPS) RS Travel