Foreign Office says you must carry out one check 8 weeks before flying

The Foreign Office has issued a warning to Brits planning a holiday, stating you must carry out a certain check at least eight weeks before travelling. This advice is in place to prevent you potentially becoming seriously ill while away.

Before setting off on a trip abroad, there are a number of vital steps to take. Ensuring your passport is up-to-date, booking insurance, and checking any visa requirements are all important.

However, there are some other vital checks to make that could be easily overlooked.

On its website, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) advised people to “check what vaccinations you need and what health precautions you should take at least egiht weeks before you travel”.

If you leave it longer than eight weeks, it might be difficult to get the appropriate vaccinations needed for where you are visiting. For this reason, the NHS also recommends getting this done sooner rather than later.

The health body says: “If possible, see the GP or a private travel clinic at least six to eight weeks before you're due to travel.” This is because some vaccines require time for your body to develop immunity and others need to be given in more than one dose.

“Some vaccines need to be given well in advance to allow your body to develop immunity,” the NHS adds. “And some vaccines involve a number of doses spread over several weeks or months.”

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The vaccines you need will depend entirely on the country you are travelling to. For example, it is currently recommended that people travelling to Vietnam should get vaccinated against diphtheria and tetanus, and those heading to Peru should get jabbed against hepatitis A and tetanus.

To check the full list of countries and the recommended vaccinations, visit fitfortravel.nhs.uk/destinations.

Depending on the vaccine required, you may be able to get it for free from your GP. But first you should phone or visit the GP practice or practice nurse to find out whether your existing UK vaccinations are up-to-date.

The NHS says: “The GP or practice nurse can give you general advice about travel vaccinations and travel health, such as protecting yourself from malaria. They can give you any missing doses of your UK vaccines if you need them.

“Not all travel vaccinations are available free on the NHS, even if they're recommended for travel to a certain area.”

If the GP practice can give you the travel vaccines you need but they are not available on the NHS, ask for:

• Written information on what vaccines are needed
• The cost of each dose or course
• Any other charges you may have to pay, such as for some certificates of vaccination.

You can also get travel vaccines from:

• Private travel vaccination clinics
• Pharmacies offering travel healthcare services.

The following travel vaccines are available free on the NHS from your GP surgery:

• Polio (given as a combined diphtheria/tetanus/polio jab)
• Typhoid
• Hepatitis A
• Cholera

You'll have to pay for travel vaccinations against:

• Hepatitis B
• Japanese encephalitis
• Meningitis
• Rabies
• Tick-borne encephalitis
• Tuberculosis (TB)
• Yellow fever

If you're only travelling to countries in northern and central Europe, North America or Australia, it is unlikely you will need any vaccinations. The NHS adds: “But it's important to check that you're up-to-date with routine vaccinations available on the NHS.”