If Your Last Booster Was Over Ten Years Ago
And you are travelling to a region where these diseases still occur, or your work requires cover.
Diphtheria, Tetanus and Polio Booster
Combined diphtheria, tetanus and polio booster at £50, valid for ten years.
The most commonly overdue vaccine in UK adults, and often the only thing a European trip actually needs. One booster covers all three and lasts ten years. Worth checking your record before any trip, not just a long haul one.
- One Injection, Three Diseases
- Ten Years of Protection
- In person, by phone or video
- GMC-registered doctors
- Same Day Appointments
- After an Injury Too
Book Your Diphtheria, Tetanus, Polio Vaccine
Diphtheria, tetanus and polio are given together in a single combined injection in the UK, so one appointment covers all three. A booster gives around ten years of protection, and £50 covers it.
Most people need this for one of three reasons. They are travelling somewhere where these diseases still circulate, and their last booster was more than ten years ago. Their work requires up-to-date cover, particularly outdoor, agricultural, construction or waste handling roles. Or they have had an injury, and tetanus specifically is a risk from any wound contaminated with soil, dust or manure.
If you have had an injury, do not just book a booster and wait. Depending on the wound and your vaccination history, you may need the wound assessed, and possibly tetanus immunoglobulin as well as a vaccine, which is time-sensitive. Call us and describe what happened, or attend A and E for a significant or heavily contaminated wound.
Why patients choose Our Diphtheria Tetanus Polio Vaccination Service
- Same day appointments, which matters after an injury.
- One combined injection covering all three diseases.
- Vaccination history reviewed, so you are not vaccinated unnecessarily.
- Wound assessment where you have had an injury.
- Certificates and records for employers.
- Full travel risk assessment where you are travelling.
- Multiple vaccines in one visit where clinically appropriate.
- Ten clinics across the UK.
- No NHS registration or referral required.
When you Need It
Two Weeks Before Travel
Protection from a booster develops quickly, within a week or two.
If You Do Not Know Your Vaccination History
Bring whatever records you have. Where history is genuinely unknown, a full primary course may be recommended rather than a single booster.
After an Injury
Same day. Any wound contaminated with soil, dust, manure or saliva carries tetanus risk, particularly puncture wounds, animal bites and burns. Call us and describe the wound, or attend A and E for anything significant. Timing matters, and some wounds need immunoglobulin as well as vaccine.
Opening Hours
Monday to Friday 8am to 7pm, Saturday 9am - 2pm.
How to book Diphtheria Tetanus Polio Vaccination
Step 1
Book Your Appointment
Same day usually. Tell us if this follows an injury, as that changes the urgency.
Step 2
Check Your History
Your vaccination record reviewed, since a booster is only useful if you are actually due one.
Step 3
Vaccination
A single combined injection in the upper arm.
Step 4
Records
A record of what you have had and when your next booster is due, plus a certificate for your employer if you need one.
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What is Diphtheria Tetanus Polio Vaccination?
The UK uses a combined vaccine containing tetanus toxoid, low-dose diphtheria toxoid and inactivated polio virus. It is not live, so it is suitable for immunosuppressed people and can be given in pregnancy where indicated.
How the UK schedule works, which explains whether you need this. Children receive a primary course in infancy and boosters at around three years and in the mid-teens, five doses in total. Five appropriately spaced doses are considered to give lifelong protection for people living in the UK, which is why healthy adults are not routinely offered boosters here.
So why have one? Two reasons. First, travel: if you are going somewhere these diseases circulate, or somewhere an injury might be treated in a setting with limited access to tetanus immunoglobulin, a booster within the last ten years is sensible. Second, injury: current UK practice gives a booster after a tetanus-prone wound if your last dose was more than ten years ago, and sometimes sooner for high-risk wounds.
If your history is incomplete, which is common for people vaccinated abroad or in the years before records were computerised, a full three-dose primary course may be recommended instead of a single booster. That is better than assuming, particularly for tetanus, where there is no herd immunity to fall back on.
Side effects are usually a sore arm for a day or two, occasionally with mild fever.
Diphtheria tetanus polio vaccination vs NHS: WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?
| Private | NHS | |
|---|---|---|
| For travel | £50 | Free at most GP practices |
| After an injury | £50, Same-day | Free, at your GP or A and E |
| For work | £50 | Sometimes free, or employer funded |
| Waiting time | Same Day | Depends on practice capacity, A and E for injuries |
This is one of the travel vaccines the NHS provides free at most GP practices, along with typhoid and hepatitis A. And after a significant injury, A and E is the right place, not us, because a wound may need cleaning, exploration, or immunoglobulin as well as a vaccine. Private vaccination is worth paying for when you cannot get a GP appointment before travelling, or want a minor wound and a booster dealt with quickly in one visit.
Diphtheria Tetanus Polio Vaccination FAQs
£50 for the combined diphtheria, tetanus and polio injection.
Usually yes, at GP practices, and free after an injury. Worth asking first if you have time.
Your GP record will show it. If it is not available, bring what you have, and we will advise. Where history is genuinely unknown, a full course may be recommended.
Cases are very rare because vaccination is routine, but the bacterium is in soil everywhere, and tetanus does not spread between people, so your own protection is what counts. Cases in the UK now occur mostly in unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated adults.
Not usually, if your childhood course was complete. For travel further afield, a booster within ten years is sensible.
Usually a sore arm for a day or two, occasionally mild fever.
Around every ten years for travel purposes. If you had all five UK childhood doses, you are considered protected for life in the UK, and a booster is for travel, work or injury.
Clean the wound thoroughly and call us the same day, or attend A and E if it is deep, dirty, or significant. Rust itself is not the issue; soil contamination is. Depending on the wound and your history, you may need immunoglobulin as well as a vaccine.
Unnecessary boosters are not dangerous, but they are pointless and can cause more local reactions, which is why we check your history first rather than just vaccinating.
Not quite. Wild polio remains endemic in a small number of countries, and vaccine-derived strains have been detected more widely, including in London wastewater in 2022.
It is not a live vaccine and can be given where indicated.
Ready to book Diphtheria Tetanus Polio Vaccination?
Need a Booster Today?
Book a same-day appointment. One injection covers diphtheria, tetanus, and polio for around ten years. If this follows an injury, tell us when you call.