If Thailand is not your first big trip, there is a fair chance some of your vaccine cover is still working. The question is which of it, and the answer is written in your vaccination records, not in your memory.
We have this conversation every week at Evans Pharmacy in Malvern and Claines Pharmacy in Worcester, usually with someone who half remembers a set of jabs before Vietnam in 2019. The good news is that several travel vaccines last for years, one of them for decades, and a booster is often all that stands between your old cover and your new trip.
How long each Thailand vaccine lasts
These are the four where the durations are well established, which means your records can answer most of the question before you even book.
The two we check rather than assume
Not every vaccine comes with a neat expiry date. For these two, the honest answer is that duration depends on your course history and your travel pattern, which is exactly what a consultation is for.
Boosters are the quiet bargain
Renewing cover is almost always cheaper than starting it. A £39 DTP dose buys another ten years. A second hepatitis A dose at £62.50, taken six to twelve months after the first, turns single-trip protection into cover that outlasts most passports. And an unfinished hepatitis B course can often be completed rather than restarted. This is why we ask you to bring records even if they are crumpled, partial or in another language: every documented dose is money you may not need to spend twice.
Planning the trip itself? Our complete guide to travel vaccinations for Thailand covers what your itinerary calls for, region by region.
Repeat trips are where cover quietly slips
The travellers most likely to be caught out are not first-timers, who research everything, but people going back. A familiar destination feels safe, so the vaccination question never gets asked, and stays with friends or family often mean more local food and more rural time than the itinerary suggests. If your last set of jabs was for a trip more than three years ago, treat the question as open until your records say otherwise.
Frequently asked questions
Do my childhood vaccinations still count for Thailand?
Partly. Most UK adults had their last diphtheria, tetanus and polio dose at school, and the booster is due every ten years, so childhood cover alone is usually out of date. One £39 dose renews it.
How long does the typhoid vaccine last?
Around three years, for both the injection and the oral course. If your last dose was before that, plan on renewing it for Thailand.
How long does hepatitis A protection last?
A single dose protects you for the trip, reaching around 95% protection within two weeks. A second dose six to twelve months later extends protection beyond twenty years, which is why finishing the course is so worthwhile.
I cannot find my vaccination records. What happens?
Bring whatever you have, even partial records, and tell us what you remember. We will assess it honestly at your consultation, and where cover cannot be confirmed we will advise on the safest course for your trip.
Does Thailand check vaccination certificates at the border?
No vaccine is required for entry when you arrive directly from the UK. Duration matters for your protection while you are there, not for getting through the airport.
Written by the Malvern Travel Clinic team and based on NaTHNaC TravelHealthPro and CDC guidance current at the date of review.
This guide is general information, not medical advice; your consultation determines what is right for you.
