Travel health · India
Cities, mountains, backwaters and a lot of very good food. The vaccine list is short; the two things worth planning around are malaria and, in winter, the air.
The short version
Most travellers to India need 4 vaccines, and four to six 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 India.
Food and water, and the one both sources recommend without hedging. CDC recommends it for unvaccinated travellers aged one and over going to India; the Government of Canada for all travellers to areas where hepatitis A is present. Street food, thali, hotel buffet — 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.
Also food and water, and here the two sources agree: CDC recommends it for most travellers, especially anyone staying with friends or relatives or visiting smaller cities and rural areas, and the Government of Canada recommends it for most travellers to India. If you are visiting family, this one is squarely aimed at you.
At least two weeks before departure. The oral capsules take a week to finish.
Blood and bodily fluids — in practice, medical or dental care abroad, tattoos, piercings, and injuries you did not plan. This is where the sources part company: CDC recommends it for unvaccinated travellers under 60 and says those over 60 may also have it; the Government of Canada recommends it for all travellers. Many Canadians already have it from the school programme, so we check first.
The standard course runs over months. Faster schedules exist — bring your dates.
Tetanus, measles-mumps-rubella, polio, diphtheria, chickenpox. CDC asks every traveller to be current before every trip. Measles matters more than people assume: it is the routine one that actually circulates.
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 India. 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 India, and infants aged 6 to 11 months are also eligible before travel — that early dose does not count towards the routine schedule and is repeated later. The Government of Canada recommends it for all travellers to areas where hepatitis A is present.
Bacterial infection from contaminated food and water. CDC recommends it for most travellers to India, particularly those staying with friends or relatives or visiting smaller cities and rural areas; the Government of Canada recommends it for most travellers. Injection or oral capsules — the capsules need a week to finish, so they need planning rather than a last-minute visit.
Spread through blood and bodily fluids. CDC recommends it for unvaccinated travellers younger than 60, and says travellers 60 and over may also be vaccinated; the Government of Canada recommends it for all travellers. Many Canadians have it already from the routine school programme, so the first thing we do is look.
CDC asks travellers to be up to date on routine vaccines before every trip — including chickenpox, diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis, influenza, measles-mumps-rubella, polio and shingles where applicable. Measles is the one that actually circulates; tetanus is the one that lapses quietly.
CDC advises all eligible travellers to be up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines. Entry rules change; we check the current position rather than repeat last season’s.
CDC recommends pre-exposure vaccination for people whose work or activities increase animal exposure, or who would struggle to reach post-exposure treatment quickly. The Government of Canada lists children, adventure travellers, veterinarians and wildlife workers, and anyone in close contact with animals among those at higher risk. Street dogs and temple macaques are the encounters travellers actually have. The vaccine does not remove the need for treatment after a bite — it buys time and simplifies what you have to find.
CDC recommends it for anyone moving to India or staying a month or more, and says to consider it for shorter trips involving rural areas, hiking, camping or accommodation without air conditioning or screens. It is not recommended for short urban stays. The Government of Canada frames it around long stays of 30 days or more, repeat trips, rural areas, outbreaks and heavy mosquito exposure.
The Government of Canada notes a chikungunya vaccine is approved in Canada and suggests discussing it with a healthcare provider, with risk varying by season, year, region and elevation. CDC is narrower, saying it may be considered for stays of roughly six months or more. Where two sources differ this much, it becomes a conversation about your specific trip rather than a rule.
CDC says vaccination may be considered for children and adults travelling to areas of active cholera transmission. For most itineraries this does not come up; for aid work or an outbreak area it does.
Honest about the risks, and specific about what prevents each one.
The Government of Canada describes urban air pollution in India as at times extremely hazardous, particularly in winter. It is the risk most likely to affect a traveller with asthma, COPD or heart disease, and the one least likely to be on a vaccine list.
Prevention Extra reliever inhaler in hand luggage, a well-fitted N95, and check the daily air quality index the way you would check the weather. Move outdoor plans to the morning.
The most likely thing to interrupt the trip. Contaminated food, water and ice are the usual routes, and it is no respecter of hotel stars.
Prevention Bottled or boiled water including for teeth, ice only where you trust the kitchen, food cooked fresh and hot. We can send you with rehydration salts and, where appropriate, a standby antibiotic.
Road crashes are among the risks CDC names for travellers here. Traffic is dense, fast and improvisational, and pedestrians are not the priority.
Prevention Use app-based cars rather than driving yourself. Avoid night journeys on rural highways. If you get on a motorbike, wear a real helmet and check your insurance covers it.
A risk to travellers, spread by daytime-biting mosquitoes, so evening-only precautions miss it. The Government of Canada notes there is no vaccine or medication available in Canada to prevent it.
Prevention Repellent through the day. Air-conditioned or screened rooms.
Present in dogs and wildlife. Street dogs are everywhere and the temple macaques are bolder than they look — a snatched bag can become a scratch.
Prevention Do not feed or handle animals. Any bite, scratch or lick on broken skin: wash for a full fifteen minutes and seek medical advice the same day, vaccinated or not.
A risk in India. Spread mainly by mosquito bite but also sexually, and it can cause serious birth defects.
Prevention If you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, this deserves a proper conversation before you book rather than after.
The Government of Canada warns that high-altitude illness can be fatal and asks trekkers above 3,000 metres to know the symptoms. Ladakh, Sikkim and the Himalayan treks all qualify, and Leh is reached by air — you arrive at altitude rather than climbing to it.
Prevention Plan rest days into the itinerary. Acetazolamide is prescribable and we can sort it at the same appointment.
CDC names heat illness among the risks. The pre-monsoon months in the north are genuinely dangerous, not merely uncomfortable.
Prevention Plan sightseeing for early morning, drink more than you feel like, and treat air conditioning as a health measure rather than a luxury.
Prevented with tablets rather than a vaccine, and only needed for some routes — which is why the answer depends on your itinerary.
CDC puts malaria risk throughout India, including Mumbai and New Delhi. The exception is elevation: no transmission above 2,000 metres in Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Ladakh, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand.
CDC lists atovaquone-proguanil, doxycycline, mefloquine and tafenoquine. Chloroquine is not an option here — around 60% of cases are chloroquine-resistant P. falciparum, with P. vivax making up most of the rest. Which drug suits you depends on your dates, your other medications and whether you will be in strong sun, since doxycycline and sunburn go together. The Government of Canada’s position is that antimalarials may be recommended depending on itinerary and season, so this is a decision made against your actual route rather than the country name.
The things that prevent most travel illness are not medical.
CDC puts malaria risk throughout India, and names Mumbai and New Delhi explicitly rather than exempting them. The exception is altitude: no transmission above 2,000 metres in Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Ladakh, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand. Roughly 60% of cases are chloroquine-resistant P. falciparum and 40% P. vivax, so the drug choice matters — CDC lists atovaquone-proguanil, doxycycline, mefloquine and tafenoquine. The Government of Canada is looser, saying antimalarial medication may be recommended depending on your itinerary and the time of year. In practice, a week in Delhi in January and a monsoon month in rural Odisha are different decisions. Bring your route and your dates.
The Government of Canada describes air pollution in Indian urban areas as at times extremely hazardous, particularly in winter, and advises limiting outdoor activity when it is high. For anyone with asthma, COPD or a heart condition, that is more likely to affect your trip than anything on the vaccine list. Bring more reliever inhaler than you think you need and keep it in your day bag; a well-fitted N95 is worth the space; and if you are choosing dates, north India in November to January is the worst of it. We would rather tell you this before you book than treat it afterwards.
The Government of Canada’s overall advice for India is to exercise a high degree of caution, with regional advisories. It says to avoid all travel to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, and to within 10 km of the Pakistan border in Gujarat, Punjab and Rajasthan — landmines and unexploded ordnance among the reasons. It advises against non-essential travel to Manipur. If you are planning Rajasthan, the border strip is worth checking against your route; most of the classic itinerary sits well clear of it.
India requires proof of polio vaccination from travellers arriving from Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia or Syria. Flying from Canada, it does not apply. If your trip strings several countries together, tell us the whole route — that is the sort of thing that gets found at a check-in desk.
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.
CDC singles out travellers staying with friends or relatives as a group for whom typhoid vaccination is especially recommended. Longer stays, home cooking and less touristed areas add up differently from a hotel itinerary — and it is exactly the detail people leave out because it does not feel like a risk factor.
CDC recommends hepatitis A vaccination for unvaccinated travellers aged one year and over, and infants aged 6 to 11 months are eligible for a dose before travel. That earlier dose does not count towards the routine schedule, so it is repeated later.
The Government of Canada lists children among those at higher risk of rabies exposure. Small children approach animals, are less likely to mention a scratch, and are more often bitten on the face or hands. Around street dogs and temple macaques that is not theoretical. Worth discussing per child rather than per family.
If a child has asthma, north India between November and January deserves a conversation before the dates are booked. Bring their inhaler plan to the appointment and we will work it through with the rest.
It is a genuine conversation rather than an automatic yes or no. CDC puts malaria risk throughout India and names Delhi and Mumbai rather than exempting them; the Government of Canada says antimalarials may be recommended depending on your itinerary and the season. A short winter city trip and a monsoon month in rural India sit at opposite ends of that. Bring your route and your dates and we will give you a straight answer rather than a hedge.
The Government of Canada describes urban air pollution in India as at times extremely hazardous, especially in winter, and advises limiting outdoor activity when it is high. If you have asthma, COPD or heart disease, this is the part of the trip to plan around — bring extra reliever, a proper N95, and consider whether November to January is the right window for you.
Yes, and it is the one thing people most often leave out. CDC singles out travellers staying with friends or relatives as a group for whom typhoid vaccination is especially recommended, because home cooking, longer stays and less touristed areas add up differently from a hotel itinerary. Tell us you are visiting family — it changes the advice.
Not flying from Canada. There is no yellow fever risk in India and neither source recommends the vaccine for the trip itself. Proof is required only if you arrive from a country where yellow fever occurs — CDC lists 31 of them in Africa and South America. If your route passes through one, tell us the whole itinerary.
For most short holidays, no; for some trips, clearly yes. CDC points to activities that raise animal contact or make post-exposure treatment hard to reach. The Government of Canada names children specifically, along with adventure travellers and anyone working with animals. Cycling, long stays, small children, or rural travel move it from a footnote to a decision. Whatever we decide, the plan after a bite matters more: wash it for fifteen minutes, then get medical advice the same day.
Altitude. The Government of Canada warns that high-altitude illness can be fatal and asks trekkers above 3,000 metres to know the symptoms. Leh is reached by plane, so you arrive at 3,500 metres rather than walking up to it — the first two days matter. Acetazolamide is prescribable and we can sort it at the same appointment as the vaccines.
Yes, and most families do. We review each person’s records separately but plan the trip as one visit. Tell us how many are travelling when you book so we set the time aside. Hepatitis A can be given from twelve months, and infants aged 6 to 11 months are eligible for a travel dose.
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 India, 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 30 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 30 July 2026. Official advice changes — if your trip is months away, check again or ask us.
