Travel vaccinations for Pakistan — a London pharmacist-led guide
Pakistan is a common VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives) destination from London, with strong community ties from East London, Birmingham and Bradford. Travel patterns include family visits to Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Faisalabad and Rawalpindi; pilgrimage-adjacent travel; business trips; and trekking in the Karakoram and Hindu Kush.
City Of London Clinic operates from Barbican Pharmacy & Clinic on Goswell Road — an Elizabeth Line journey from Whitechapel and other East London communities. Every appointment is led by Asad Repon, a GPhC-registered Independent Prescriber.
The polio consideration — unique to Pakistan
Pakistan is one of only two countries in the world (with Afghanistan) where wild poliovirus remains endemic. This has two practical implications for travellers:
- Polio booster for adult travellers — if more than 10 years has passed since your last polio dose, a booster is recommended before travel. We provide the vaccine and the supporting documentation.
- Polio certificate for onward travel — Saudi Arabia and some other countries require polio vaccination certificates for travellers who have been to or come from Pakistan. This particularly affects Hajj and Umrah pilgrims.
Other vaccines typically discussed for Pakistan
- Hepatitis A — almost universally recommended. Water-borne risk is high enough that even short trips warrant the vaccine.
- Typhoid — strongly recommended for most Pakistan trips, especially VFR.
- Hepatitis B — for longer stays or anyone with potential bodily-fluid exposure (healthcare visits, longer stays, sexual exposure).
- Rabies — three-dose pre-exposure course strongly recommended for rural travel, children, anyone trekking or cycling. Dog-mediated rabies is a real risk in Pakistan.
- Cholera — for outbreak areas, particularly during monsoon flooding.
- Meningitis ACWY — if your trip combines Pakistan with Hajj or Umrah via Saudi Arabia.
Vaccines NOT typically needed
- Yellow Fever — Pakistan doesn't have endemic Yellow Fever; only required if entering from a YF endemic country.
- Japanese Encephalitis — not a routine recommendation for Pakistan (lower risk than for parts of India and South-East Asia).
VFR travel considerations
VFR travellers — those visiting friends and relatives — typically have higher infection risk than tourists. You stay in family homes, eat local food, travel into rural areas, and may spend longer in-country than a tourist. Children visiting family for the first time often haven't built up the food/water resistance their cousins have. We tailor the vaccination plan to actual VFR patterns rather than tourist itineraries.
Hajj and Umrah — the Saudi Arabia requirements
For Pakistani-Muslim travellers from London combining Pakistan with Saudi pilgrimage (Hajj or Umrah), Saudi requires both Meningitis ACWY and polio vaccination certificates. We provide both and the supporting documentation.
Family appointments
We routinely vaccinate families travelling for VFR — partners, children, grandparents. Booking one slot per person and running them back-to-back keeps the visit efficient. Children's records are reviewed against the UK childhood immunisation schedule first.
How to book
Call 020 7253 9691 or visit cityoflondonclinic.co.uk/booking. Plan 2-6 weeks before departure for full course completion. We're at 36 Goswell Rd., Golden Lane Estate, London EC1M 7AA — 4 minutes from Barbican station, Elizabeth Line from Whitechapel and Stratford.
