Travel health · Cuba
Short vaccine list, no malaria — and the one destination where what you pack from the pharmacy matters more than what you get injected with.
The short version
Most travellers to Cuba need 4 vaccines, and two to four weeks is enough time to do it properly.
Leaving sooner? Most of it can still be done — we prioritise what matters for your route. Nobody gets turned away for booking late.
Recommended for essentially everyone going to Cuba.
Not a vaccine, and the most important line on this page. The Government of Canada states that Cuba faces severe medicine shortages including antibiotics and common pain killers, that many prescription medications may not be available, and that travellers should bring enough medication for their stay plus sufficient quantities of basic medicine. This is the rare trip where running out is not an inconvenience you can solve at a corner pharmacy.
Come in early enough that we can get an extra supply released and, where needed, a written note for customs.
Food and water. CDC recommends it for unvaccinated travellers aged one and over; the Government of Canada for all travellers to areas where hepatitis A is present. Resort included — the vaccine does not know where you ate.
Any time before you fly. One dose covers the trip; a second, six months later, covers decades.
Blood and bodily fluids. The Government of Canada recommends it for all travellers; CDC for unvaccinated travellers under 60. It matters more than usual here because the same source describes health facilities as being in poor condition and lacking basic drugs, supplies and equipment.
The standard course runs over months. Faster schedules exist — bring your dates.
Tetanus, measles-mumps-rubella, polio, chickenpox. CDC asks every traveller to be current before every trip and asks all international travellers to be fully vaccinated against measles.
Tetanus if it has been more than ten years — which for most adults it has.
The honest answer to “am I too late?” depends on the date. Put yours in and we’ll work backwards. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Worth a conversation — the answer changes with where you’re going and what you’ll be doing.
The full list for Cuba. Most people need the first two or three; the rest depend on where you are going and for how long.
Spread through contaminated food and water. CDC recommends it for unvaccinated travellers aged one year and over going to Cuba; the Government of Canada for all travellers to areas where hepatitis A is present. The Government of Canada also advises avoiding ice cubes in drinks and eating only well-cooked food, which is the same advice from the other direction.
Spread through blood and bodily fluids — including unplanned medical or dental care, which carries more weight here given that the Government of Canada describes facilities as in poor condition and lacking basic drugs, supplies and equipment. It recommends the vaccine for all travellers; CDC for unvaccinated travellers younger than 60.
CDC asks travellers to be up to date on routine vaccines before every trip and asks all international travellers to be fully vaccinated against measles. Tetanus is the one that lapses quietly, and a coral scrape or a scooter graze is the usual reason it comes up.
CDC recommends it for most travellers to Cuba, especially those staying with friends or relatives. The Government of Canada says a vaccine is available and may be recommended for some travellers depending on risk. For a resort week our pharmacist often lands nearer the Canadian wording; for a casa particular stay or a longer trip around the island, nearer CDC.
CDC advises all eligible travellers to be up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines.
CDC frames pre-exposure vaccination around occupational and recreational animal exposure. The Government of Canada lists children, adventure travellers, cave explorers, veterinarians and wildlife workers among those at higher risk. For a resort holiday it rarely comes up; for a cycling or caving trip it can.
CDC says chikungunya vaccination is generally not recommended for Cuba. The Government of Canada notes chikungunya is a risk in the country. Mosquito precautions carry this one.
Not recommended for Cuba itself by either source. But proof of vaccination IS required if you are arriving from — or have transited an airport in — a country where yellow fever occurs, and CDC puts that requirement from nine months of age. If Cuba is one leg of a longer trip, bring the whole itinerary.
Honest about the risks, and specific about what prevents each one.
The Government of Canada states Cuba faces severe medicine shortages including antibiotics and common pain killers, that many prescription medications may not be available, and that good health care is limited in availability with facilities in poor condition lacking basic drugs, supplies and equipment.
Prevention Bring more than you need, in labelled packaging, in hand luggage. Build a real first-aid and self-treatment kit before you go — this is the part we can genuinely help with, and it takes one appointment.
Named by both sources. Carried by daytime-biting mosquitoes, and it can become severe. There is no vaccine or preventive medication available in Canada.
Prevention Repellent through the day, reapplied. Air-conditioned or screened rooms — and remember the air conditioning depends on the power.
Named by both sources. Spread by biting midges rather than mosquitoes, so standard netting misses it, and there is nothing available to prevent it.
Prevention Fine-mesh screens or air conditioning. Repellent on exposed skin at dawn and dusk.
Both named as risks. Zika can cause serious birth defects and is also sexually transmitted; chikungunya joint pain can persist long after the trip.
Prevention If you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, this belongs in the conversation before you book. Otherwise the same daytime mosquito precautions.
The Government of Canada notes long and unpredictable daily power cuts across the island. Air conditioning, lifts, water pumps and refrigeration are all downstream of it.
Prevention A plan for anything that must stay cold, and a torch. Assume the resort fridge will be off at some point.
The Government of Canada describes road conditions as poor throughout the island, with poorly maintained roads, missing traffic signs and insufficient lighting. CDC names motor vehicle crashes among the main risks to travellers.
Prevention No night driving. Treat a rental car and an unlit rural road as two separate decisions.
The Government of Canada advises avoiding ice cubes in drinks and eating only well-cooked food — plain, and worth following even at an all-inclusive.
Prevention Bottled water, no ice you did not see made, hot food served hot. Rehydration salts in the bag, because replacing them there may not be possible.
The things that prevent most travel illness are not medical.
The Government of Canada currently advises Canadians to AVOID NON-ESSENTIAL TRAVEL to Cuba, citing worsening shortages of fuel, electricity, and basic necessities including food, water and medicine. That is a higher level than most destinations on this site and we are not going to bury it. Plenty of Calgarians still go, and this page is written for them — but the advisory is the context for everything below, and it is worth reading in full on travel.gc.ca before you book rather than after.
The Government of Canada says plainly that many prescription medications may not be available in Cuba, that the country faces severe shortages including antibiotics and common pain killers, and that you should bring enough medication for your stay plus sufficient quantities of basic medicine. In practice that means: bring more of your regular prescriptions than the trip strictly needs, and bring a real kit rather than a token one — pain and fever relief, an antihistamine, rehydration salts, something for diarrhoea, antiseptic, dressings, and where it is appropriate, a standby antibiotic. We can put that together with you, and we can usually arrange an early or extended supply of your regular medication if you tell us before you travel rather than the day before.
The Government of Canada notes Cuba is experiencing long and unpredictable daily power cuts. For most travellers that is an inconvenience. If you use insulin, some biologics, or anything else that has to stay cold, it is a planning problem — a resort fridge is only as reliable as the resort’s power. Tell us before you go and we will work out a cold-chain plan you can actually carry: the right cooling wallet, how long your particular product tolerates being warm, and what to do if it has been out too long.
The Government of Canada names dengue, Zika, chikungunya and Oropouche as risks in Cuba, and CDC names the same. None of them has a vaccine or a preventive medication available in Canada, which makes repellent the whole strategy rather than a backup. Two details worth knowing: the mosquitoes that carry dengue and Zika bite in daylight, so evening-only precautions miss them; and Oropouche is carried by biting midges small enough to pass straight through ordinary mosquito netting.
Most people booking a travel consult with us are sorting out a household, not just themselves. A few things are different for children.
Bring the whole household to the same consultation. We review each person’s records separately but plan the trip as one, which usually means fewer visits and no repeated explanations. Tell us how many people when you book so we set aside the time.
Children’s paracetamol and ibuprofen, an antihistamine, rehydration salts, and anything they take regularly — in child doses, in enough quantity. The Government of Canada names common painkillers among the shortages, and a feverish child at 2am is not the moment to discover that.
CDC recommends it for unvaccinated travellers aged one year and over. Infants aged 6 to 11 months can have a travel dose, which does not count towards the routine schedule and is repeated later.
The mosquitoes that carry dengue and Zika bite during the day, which is exactly when children are in the pool and out of their clothes. Bring more repellent than you think you need — replacing it there may not be possible.
Any immunisation records you can find, for each traveller. Alberta records we can often look up; out-of-province and overseas records we cannot. A photo of a yellow card is plenty.
A short list: hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and your routine vaccines brought up to date, with typhoid worth discussing. There is no malaria in Cuba and yellow fever is not recommended for the destination itself. The vaccines are the easy part of this trip — the harder part is what you pack.
The Government of Canada states that Cuba faces severe medicine shortages including antibiotics and common pain killers, that many prescription medications may not be available, and that travellers should bring enough for their stay plus sufficient quantities of basic medicine. So: bring more than you need, keep it in your hand luggage in its labelled packaging, and build a proper kit before you go. This is the one trip where that advice is not padding.
Usually, yes — an early or extended supply for travel is something we can often arrange, and it is far easier if you ask a couple of weeks out rather than the day before you fly. Bring your travel dates and we will sort what is possible for each of your prescriptions.
Plan for the fridge being off. The Government of Canada notes long and unpredictable daily power cuts across the island, so a resort fridge is not a guarantee. Come and see us before you travel: we will work out the right cooling wallet for your trip length, how long your particular insulin tolerates being warm, and what to do if it has been out too long. Never put it in checked luggage.
You must be able to show proof of medical insurance on entry, so treat it as an entry document rather than an optional extra. Save the policy number offline — you may not have reliable data or power when you are asked for it.
That is your call and we will not pretend otherwise. The Government of Canada currently advises avoiding non-essential travel to Cuba because of worsening shortages of fuel, electricity, and basic necessities including food, water and medicine. Many Canadians go anyway and have an excellent time. Read the current advisory in full before you book, and if you go, go prepared — which is exactly what this page is for.
Not coming from Canada. It is required only if you are arriving from, or have transited an airport in, a country where yellow fever occurs — from nine months of age. If Cuba is a stop on a longer trip, bring the whole route and we will check where it applies.
Nothing. The travel consultation is free — a full itinerary review, every recommended vaccine discussed, and advice for your particular trip. You pay only for the vaccines actually given.
Bring your travel dates. A pharmacist will go through what you need for Cuba, give what can be given that day, and book anything that needs a second dose. No doctor referral, no wait list.
Written from current CDC and Government of Canada guidance, checked 31 July 2026. Advice for your particular trip comes from our pharmacist, in person.
Imagine Health Pharmacy & Travel Clinic — #4120, 15 Sunpark Plaza SE, Calgary, Alberta. In Sunpark Plaza, off Macleod Trail, serving Sundance, Midnapore, Shawnessy, Chaparral and the rest of south Calgary.
No doctor’s referral is needed. In Alberta a pharmacist can assess you, prescribe what your trip needs and give the vaccines in the same visit — so for most travellers this is one appointment, not a clinic queue and then a pharmacy.
The vaccine guidance on this page follows the official recommendations below, read and applied by a pharmacist. Where the two differ we say so rather than pick one.
Checked against both sources on 31 July 2026. Official advice changes — if your trip is months away, check again or ask us.
