A leading pharmacist is warning holidaymakers to check their vaccine records before travelling.
Wendy Lee, deputy pharmacy superintendent at Well Pharmacy, has urged travellers to review their vaccine history and seek advice before heading abroad.
As many as half of travellers do not seek pre-travel health advice, increasing their risk of preventable diseases, and there were 889 reported cases of severe Hepatitis A in England and Wales in 2024, with indications many were contracted abroad.
Ms Lee said: "Checking your vaccination status and seeking advice from a GP or pharmacist to ensure you are fully protected could be lifesaving."
A total of 98 per cent of those Hepatitis A cases were unvaccinated.
The NHS App in England allows users to quickly check their vaccination record from home, including details of past vaccines and prescribed medicines.
To view your immunisation history, open the NHS App, navigate to the GP Health Record section, select the Immunisations tab, and scroll through your records.
However, not all immunisations may be listed, particularly older vaccines or those given abroad.
Other reasons for missing records may include incomplete GP information or the need to enable the ‘detailed coded record’ option.
Anyone unsure about their vaccine status is advised to contact their GP or pharmacist, who can access the full NHS National Care Records.
Well Pharmacy offers a range of travel vaccines to help protect against health risks in destinations worldwide.
The reminder comes amid growing concern that travellers are underestimating the importance of vaccines even for travel to Europe and other familiar destinations.
