Vanuatu Vaccinations

The CDC suggests visiting your physician several weeks ahead of your trip. You should be up-to-date with routine vaccinations while visiting Vanuatu and remember, some other vaccines may also be needed. Double check the CDC site for the latest information.

Routine Vaccines

Double check with your healthcare provider to be sure you are current on your inoculations before your trip. These vaccines are:

• Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMWR)
• Diptheria-Tetanus-Pertussis
• Varicella (Chickenpox)
• Polio

Hepatitis A

Most travelers will also need to get a Hepatitis A, a disease found in contaminated food and water in Vanuatu, regardless of where you dine or are staying.

Hepatitis B

A person can get hepatitis B through sexual contact, blood products and contaminated needles. The CDC recommends a hepatitis B vaccine before getting a tattoo, piercing or having sex with a new partner.

Malaria

To prevent malaria, a visitor to Vanuatu needs to take prescription medicine before, throughout and following the trip. A physician can help decide which medication is proper as well as provide information about other measures to stop malaria. The CDC has more detailed information about malaria in Vanuatu on their website.

Malaria is always a serious disease and could be a deadly illness. If you become ill with a fever while traveling, or even after returning home and for up to one-year, seek immediate medical attention and tell the medical staff about your travel history.

Typhoid

In Vanuatu, typhoid can be obtained through tainted food or water. The CDC highly suggests this vaccine for most tourists, particularly those visiting with friends or relatives, planning on visiting rural areas or small cities and for those who are adventurous eaters.

Vanuatu is comprised of over 80 islands, and many don’t have airstrips or decent roads. Through a partnership with Unicef, some vaccines will soon be delivered to remote areas by drone. Tests of the delivery system were conducted between August 2017 and March 2018 and Unicef intents to rolled out to health authorities across the islands later in 2018.

Healthy Packing List

The CDC has put together a packing list for travelers going to Vanuatu Follow the list and be prepared to prevent and treat common illnesses and injuries. Some supplies and medicines may be hard to find in Vanuatu, have different names or even have different ingredients than those in America.

Stay Healthy

Vaccines cannot protect the traveler from many diseases in Vanuatu, so modified behavior is important

• Eat and drink safely
• Prevent bug bites
• Stay safe outdoors
• Stay away from animals
• Reduce germ exposure
• Don’t share body fluids
• Know how/where to get medical care when traveling, and
• Select safe transportation