COVID-19 makes Australian travelers forget about other vaccines

Health experts warn Australians planning to travel abroad to look beyond COVID-19 and prepare for other health risks abroad.

Dr Deb Mills, medical director of the Travel Medicine Alliance Group of Travel Health Clinics, said a national YouGov poll found that a third of people planning to travel abroad this year said Australians would skip vaccinations. He says that by doing so, he is “tempting fate.” Either you are not taking the necessary health precautions or it is too late to ensure optimal protection.

Mills said polls (funded by vaccine maker Sanofi) show that people are unaware of the dangers from infectious diseases other than COVID-19.

“Not all common travel illnesses, such as hepatitis A, typhoid fever, and Japanese encephalitis (JE), have gone away. Since last year, there have been outbreaks in Australia as well.

Sydney-based Renae Leith-Manos, 43, contracted typhoid fever after seeking a job opportunity in Jakarta, Indonesia, where borders were reopened.

Leith-Manos and her two children, 15-year-old twins Mason and Stella, were going on vacation in Europe together. Instead, they never left Indonesia.

“My son was the first to be attacked by typhoid fever, and he completely lost his appetite, something unheard of for a 15-year-old boy. Then my daughter and I got sick,” Leith-Manos explained. Did.

“It went on and on and on, and just when we thought we were okay, we were hit again,” she said of the ordeal. It was scary.”

Leith-Manos admits he hadn’t thought about routine travel vaccinations at this point.

“We all had a COVID vaccine, but with COVID being so high-profile, we hadn’t really thought about other vaccines for Southeast Asia.

She’s not the only one thinking. YouGov’s findings show that just 15% of Australian travelers research and understand health recommendations for their destination.

Most of the 1023 survey respondents protected against COVID-19 (64%) more than commonly vaccinated infections during childhood such as measles, chickenpox, pertussis, tetanus and diphtheria. considered important (36%). cents).

Many of these infections have experienced a global resurgence in recent years. Mills said many people are surprised to learn that some of the vaccines they received as children do not provide lifelong protection.

“Measles is a great example because COVID has disrupted vaccine programs and health systems are under stress from surges in demand in a ‘normal’ year,” said Mills.

Earlier this month, UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) called for urgent action to avert a measles and polio outbreak as COVID-19 continues to disrupt vaccine campaigns around the world.

Nearly 41 countries have postponed their 2020 or 2021 measles campaigns due to the pandemic, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“People born between 1966 and 1983 were vaccinated when it was thought that only one measles vaccine was needed, so this group needs a booster before traveling abroad.

Travelers should consider the timing of vaccination protection.

“Last-minute vaccinations don’t give the immune system enough time to work,” Mills said.

Mills also urges Australians to get a flu shot, especially if heading into the northern hemisphere winter.

“Influenza is, in fact, the most common vaccine-preventable disease for travelers. This year’s southern hemisphere flu vaccine is the same as the northern hemisphere,” Mills said.

The findings come after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed that requests for consular assistance abroad have nearly tripled to more than 34,000 since the pandemic.

DFAT’s November Consular State of Play report shows that ‘crisis cases’ surged to 15,895 between 2021 and 2022, a nearly 418% increase from 2019-2020. .

The report found that consular officials assisted Australians in crisis situations in Ukraine and elsewhere, provided COVID-19-related assistance, and provided emergency funding to more than 800 Australians through government loans and programs. pointing out that

Dean Long, CEO of the Australian Association of Travel Agents (AFTA), said the report reinforces the need for travelers to have adequate levels of travel insurance. , you should not travel. ”

Leith-Manos was hit with an unexpected flood of medical and lodging expenses in the weeks after she and her family were diagnosed with typhoid fever. Luckily she had annual travel insurance.

“This one event paid off my annual insurance premiums. Getting sick abroad is expensive. in order to make sure that