At the same time, current data from WHO and UNICEF make it clear that this progress is by no means guaranteed. In 2024, 14.3 million infants worldwide did not receive a single vaccine dose against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis. This shows that access to vaccines is still unevenly distributed and that gaps in coverage continue to exist in many places.

In a globalized world, this affects not only local populations but also travelers. Infectious diseases do not stop at national borders, and international mobility can contribute to pathogens spreading rapidly across regions. Travelers therefore not only benefit from global vaccination efforts, but can also make a contribution themselves. In this blog post, we explain why that is and how travelers can take responsibility.

How Vaccines Protect

Vaccines train the immune system to recognize a pathogen and defend itself against it without having to go through the disease itself. In this way, they can protect against severe illness and help contain the spread of infectious diseases.

Their benefits go beyond protecting the individual. When many people are vaccinated, a pathogen has a harder time spreading. Through so-called herd immunity, particularly vulnerable groups are also protected, such as infants, older adults, or people with certain medical conditions who cannot be vaccinated or cannot be fully vaccinated. For some diseases, including measles, very high vaccination coverage is needed to maintain herd immunity and prevent outbreaks.

Why Travel Plays an Important Role

Access to vaccines is still very uneven across the world. Marginalized and particularly vulnerable groups, as well as people living in lower resource or conflict-affected regions, often have only limited access to vaccination.

Travel brings together not only people, cultures, and healthcare systems, but also pathogens. People who travel without adequate vaccination not only face a higher risk of becoming ill with a vaccine-preventable disease themselves, but can also carry pathogens across borders. History also shows that the introduction of infectious diseases into populations with little or no immunity can have devastating consequences. During European colonization, introduced diseases such as smallpox, measles, and influenza contributed to massive population losses and profound social upheaval.

Travel medicine is therefore more than individual prevention - it also aims to reduce the cross-border spread of infectious diseases and better protect particularly vulnerable populations.

What Vaccination Protection Before Travel Includes

Travelers should not only think about classic travel vaccines such as yellow fever. It is equally important to check protection against diseases that are part of the routine vaccination schedule in Switzerland, such as measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, or polio. Vaccination programmes, vaccination coverage, and access to healthcare differ considerably around the world. People traveling with gaps in their vaccination protection therefore not only risk becoming ill themselves, but may also carry vaccine-preventable diseases into regions where outbreaks can have particularly serious consequences.

How Travelers Can Help in Practical Terms

First of all, individual travel health advice is important. The same recommendations do not apply to every trip, and the epidemiological situation can change. In addition, some vaccines require several doses or sufficient lead time before departure. This also applies to rabies vaccination: in many regions, treatment after an animal bite is not reliably available at all times. Especially where vaccines or immunoglobulin are scarce, good preparation before travel can help ensure that, in an emergency, travelers are not dependent on limited medical resources that may be vital for the local population.

Good travel preparation also means considering how one’s own actions may affect others. In line with the principle of Responsible Global Citizenship, travelers should follow health regulations at their destination, observe local recommendations, and avoid traveling when ill whenever possible. When you travel well prepared, you not only protect yourself, but also act responsibly towards others.

Common Misconceptions About Vaccination and Travel

“I’m healthy, so I don’t need vaccinations.”
Healthy people can also become infected with diseases while traveling and pass them on to others. Good health does not replace vaccination protection.

“I only need travel vaccines, not routine vaccines.”
Not only classic travel vaccines such as yellow fever, hepatitis A, or rabies are relevant. Routine vaccinations such as measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, or COVID-19 should also be up to date. Vaccination programmes, vaccination coverage, and access to vaccines differ worldwide.

“These diseases hardly exist anymore, so I’m not at risk.”

The fact that some diseases have become less common is above all a success of vaccination programmes. Where vaccination coverage declines, however, they can return quickly.

“If I’m only traveling for a short time or staying in a good hotel, I don’t need travel health advice.”
Risk depends not only on the length of travel or the accommodation, but also on the destination, planned activities, the current epidemiological situation, and individual health status. Vaccination recommendations are therefore always individual.

“The risk is so small that vaccination isn’t worth it. And if I do catch something, I can just get treated.”

It is sometimes hard for people to assess their own personal risk without having access to all relevant information. In addition, not all vaccine-preventable diseases can be treated easily, and some can be transmitted before it is even clear that someone has become ill. Vaccination is therefore not only a question of individual risk, but also of prevention and responsibility towards others.

Responsible Travel

Global vaccination programmes have protected countless lives and improved the health of millions of people over recent decades. At the same time, existing vaccination gaps show that this progress cannot be taken for granted.

Anyone who checks their vaccination status, takes recommended vaccines seriously, and travels well prepared protects not only themselves, but also others. Travel preparation is therefore more than a personal preventive measure. It is also a contribution to responsible travel and to global health.

References

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (23. April 2025). Vaccination and immunoprophylaxis—General principles. In CDC Yellow Book. https://www.cdc.gov/yellow-book/hcp/preparing-international-travelers/vaccination-and-immunoprophylaxis-general-principles.html

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Travel vaccines: Plan ahead. Travelers’ Health. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/travel-vaccines

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Collen, E. J., Johar, A. S., Teixeira, J. C., & Llamas, B. (2022). The immunogenetic impact of European colonization in the Americas. Frontiers in Genetics, 13, Article 918227. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2022.918227

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World Health Organization. (25. Februar 2025). How do vaccines work? https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/how-do-vaccines-work

World Health Organization. (15. Juli 2025). Immunization coverage. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/immunization-coverage

World Health Organization. (15. Juli 2025). Global childhood vaccination coverage holds steady, yet over 14 million infants remain unvaccinated, WHO/UNICEF. https://www.who.int/news/item/15-07-2025-global-childhood-vaccination-coverage-holds-steady-yet-over-14-million-infants-remain-unvaccinated-who-unicef

World Health Organization. (n.d.). Immunization Agenda 2030. https://www.who.int/teams/immunization-vaccines-and-biologicals/strategies/ia2030