Sunday, May 28, 2017

Dubai: If you’re travelling this summer, you can now get vaccinations at a total of 77 centres across the UAE.

There are at least six traveller’s health clinics in every emirate. On Sunday, officials from the Ministry of Health and Prevention announced the opening of two more in Dubai — the Al Muhaisnah Health Centre and Al Ittihad Health Centre.

Ahead of the holiday season, the federal ministry is looking to raise greater awareness of the importance of getting vaccinated.

A total of 13 vaccines can be administered in the UAE. Each follows an international schedule set by the World Health Organisation and the US-based Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“We have all the vaccinations available for any destination you are travelling,” said Fatima Al Attar, the ministry’s head of International Regulations.

Vaccines are not only services provided by traveller’s health clinics in the UAE. The clinics can conduct tests to check the traveller’s health, and inform about any required vaccines.

They can also issue health information cards featuring the traveller’s basic data, chronic diseases, a blood type, and contact number.

Why might I need to get vaccinated?

Most people received all the vaccines they might need in the country where they were born in. However, if you travel far from home, there can a risk of contracting deadly diseases — especially if you’re travelling to developing countries.

Some of the most common vaccines travellers get include Hepatitis A and B, Thyphoid, Cholera, Yellow Fever and Meningitis.

How do I find out if I need vaccines?

The Ministry of Health goes along the same guidelines as the US government’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

To find out if you are going to need vaccines for where you’re going, visit [wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/] and follow the instructions.

The website also lists global travel health warnings.

Generally, if you’re travelling to Europe or North America, you are probably not going to need any vaccines.

But if you’re going to visit parts of South America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia, jabs are often going to be required.

A trip to Kenya, for example, could require you to get up to eight jabs.

How do I get vaccinated in the UAE?

If you’ve found out that you are going to need vaccines for a trip, by visiting [wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/], the next step is to find out your nearest health centre which can administer the vaccines.

A map showing clinics managed by the Ministry of Health can be found on: [moh.gov.ae/en/About/Pages/ServiceProvider.aspx]

If you live in Dubai, you can visit clinics operated by the Dubai Health Authority. These can be seen at: [https://www.dha.gov.ae/en/PrimaryHealthCareCentres/HealthCenters/Pages/Healthcenterlist.aspx]

Vaccines are free For Emirati citizens. Residents will generally have to pay. Whether you are a citizen or resident, you have to bring along your vaccination certificate booklet — also known as a ‘yellow book’ due to its colour.

This book contains stamps that confirm which vaccinations you’ve had, and can be shown to immigration authorities at the country you land at. It costs around Dh20.

Vaccines vary in cost — and most are not covered by health insurers. A flu vaccine, for example, can cost less than Dh40 but a typhoid jab cost Dh100 and the hepatitis A vaccine costs about Dh140.

Clinics open for vaccinations at 7:30am until 2:30pm, Sunday to Thursday. But be warned — you may want to get there early as queues can start well before then.

Prepare to spend up to two hours in the clinic to go through the entire process of consultation and the jabs.

By Paul Crompton Staff Reporter

Gulf News 2017. All rights reserved.