Of all the travel vaccines, hepatitis A is the most forgiving of a late booking. If you fly in a week, it is still absolutely worth having.
The short answer
UK guidance is that hepatitis A vaccine should preferably be given at least two weeks before departure, but it can be given right up to the day you travel. Antibodies may not be detectable for 12 to 15 days, yet the vaccine may provide some protection before that point, and hepatitis A has a long incubation period of around a month. Late is far better than never.
What the seroconversion data actually show
This is one of those areas where the product data are genuinely reassuring. For one of the commonly used UK vaccines, 79 per cent of people had seroconverted by day 13, 86 per cent by day 15, 95 per cent by day 17 and 100 per cent by day 19. For another, more than 90 per cent of healthy adults were seroprotected at day 14. Combine that with an incubation period of roughly 28 to 30 days and a dose given a few days before you fly will usually have done its job before any exposure could cause illness.
One dose or two? What each one buys you
Protects for up to 12 months. Enough for a single trip, and the dose most last-minute travellers come in for.
Gives immunity for at least 25 years, and probably for life. No routine booster needed after that unless you remain at ongoing risk.
This is the single best-value decision in travel health. One dose covers this holiday. Coming back six to twelve months later for a second dose means you are very unlikely ever to need to think about hepatitis A again. We diarise it and remind you.
Missed your second dose by years? Do not start again
A very common worry, and an easy one to settle. Studies show successful boosting even when the second dose is delayed by several years, so the course does not need to be restarted. If you had a first dose before a trip in 2019 and never went back, come in for the second dose and you are done.
Who should have it
Hepatitis A is spread through contaminated food and water and through close personal contact. UK guidance recommends vaccination for those aged one and over travelling to areas of high or medium endemicity, which includes the Indian subcontinent, sub-Saharan and North Africa, parts of the Far East, South and Central America and the Middle East. Risk is higher if you are:
- Staying with, or visiting, the local population rather than in a resort
- A frequent or long-stay traveller to areas with poor sanitation and food hygiene
- Living with an existing liver condition or haemophilia
- Travelling to an area where an outbreak is under way
Combined vaccines, and when they make sense
A combined hepatitis A and B vaccine is available and is a sensible choice if you need protection against both, for example for longer trips, medical work, or where you may need medical or dental treatment abroad. It has an accelerated schedule of day 0, day 7 and day 21 with a fourth dose at 12 months.
One thing worth knowing: that accelerated schedule exists because of the hepatitis B component, not hepatitis A. If you only need hepatitis A, a single standard dose already covers you for up to 12 months and there is no reason to rush a three-dose regimen. Also note that the combined hepatitis A and typhoid products previously available in the UK have both been discontinued, so those now need two separate injections at the same appointment.
Common questions
Is hepatitis A vaccine free on the NHS?
Single hepatitis A vaccine is one of four travel vaccines the NHS funds for travel, but only via your own registered GP practice where that practice offers travel services. Combined products are not NHS-funded for travel. Our travel clinic provides it privately, usually with far shorter waits.
I fly tomorrow. Is there any point?
Yes. UK guidance explicitly allows it up to the day of departure. Given the long incubation period of hepatitis A, a dose on the day you fly can still prevent illness from an exposure later in the trip.
Do I need a booster every 10 years?
No. That figure comes from older product labelling. UK guidance is that a completed two-dose course gives at least 25 years of protection, with a booster at 25 years only for those at ongoing risk.
What are the side effects?
Mild and short-lived for most people: soreness, redness or a small firm lump at the injection site. Fever, headache, tiredness and nausea are reported less often. A small painless nodule at the site is harmless and settles.
You can read more about the service, including price and what happens at the appointment, on our hepatitis A vaccination page. Most people having hepatitis A also want typhoid for the same destinations, and both can be done in one visit at our Wilmslow travel clinic.
Travelling soon?
Same-day and next-day appointments are usually available at our Wilmslow clinic. Call us even if you fly this week, and we will tell you what is still worth doing.
