Clinically reviewed by Dr. Ponlawat Pitsuwan, Physician, Takecare Clinic Phuket. Last reviewed: October 2026
Both hepatitis A and B vaccines are available in Phuket with no appointment needed at Takecare Clinic Phuket. Hepatitis A spreads through food and water. Hepatitis B spreads through blood, bodily fluids, and unprotected sex. Many visitors need both. If you missed pre-travel vaccination, you can start a course the day you arrive.
You spent your first few days in Rawai eating from the seafood market, sharing plates, drinking cocktails with ice at a beach bar, and not thinking about hepatitis at all. Now someone mentioned it, or you are planning a longer stay and want to be sensible about it. Either way, you are not too late.
Hepatitis A and hepatitis B are two different viruses with two different transmission routes and two different vaccines. Most people do not need the biology. They need to know which vaccine applies to them, how many doses, and whether they can get it done today. That is what this covers.
Hepatitis A vs Hepatitis B: Two Different Risks, Two Different Vaccines
These two viruses get grouped together because the vaccines are often given at the same time, sometimes as a single combined injection called Twinrix. But the risks are not the same.
Hepatitis A travels through contaminated food and water. A Patong buffet where food sits in the heat, raw shellfish from a beachside restaurant, street food prepared with water from an unknown source. You do not need to do anything unusual to be exposed. You just need to eat.
Hepatitis B travels through blood and bodily fluids. Unprotected sex is the main route for visitors. Tattooing, piercing, or a medical procedure outside a controlled setting also carries risk.
Most short-stay visitors to Phuket face higher real-world risk from hepatitis A than hepatitis B. That calculation changes quickly depending on what you do here.
Who Needs These Vaccines Most: Risk Groups in Phuket
If you are eating freely at local markets, the Rawai seafood stalls, street food in Kata or Chalong, or anywhere food handling is outside your control, the hepatitis A vaccine is genuinely sensible. I see hepatitis A cases come through Phuket every year. The patients are almost never people who went looking for risk.
For hepatitis B, the risk groups are straightforward. Anyone who may have unprotected sex here. Anyone planning a tattoo or piercing. Expats settling on the island for more than a few months, especially those without an established GP managing their preventive care.
Long-stay expats are the group I think about most in this context. They arrive with partial vaccine histories, no records with them, and years since their last medical check. Getting a blood test and finishing an incomplete course is exactly the kind of preventive care that keeps a longer stay genuinely healthy.
Hepatitis Vaccine Schedules: Standard, Accelerated, and Missed Doses
Hepatitis A requires two doses: dose one now, then a booster six to twelve months later. One dose gives solid protection within two to four weeks. Both doses are needed for long-term immunity.
Hepatitis B on the standard schedule is three doses: now, one month later, and six months after the first. That timeline does not work for most short-stay visitors. The accelerated Twinrix schedule does. It runs at day zero, day seven, and day twenty-one, with a twelve-month booster to lock in long-term immunity.
Missed a dose from a course you started at home? Do not restart. An interrupted series picks up exactly where it left off. Bring a record of your first dose date if you have it. If you do not, we can still plan from what you know.
Do You Need to Check Your Immunity Before Getting Vaccinated?
If you were vaccinated as a child, you may already be immune. A hepatitis B surface antibody titer test tells us whether your protective levels are still high enough. If they are, no further doses are needed. If they have dropped, a single booster is usually enough, not a full new course.
I see this weekly with expats who received childhood vaccines in another country and have no idea whether those vaccines are still active. A blood draw on the same visit answers the question before we give a single unnecessary injection.
For hepatitis A, if you grew up somewhere the virus was common, you may have natural immunity from past exposure. We can test for this, and for some patients it is worth doing before committing to a two-dose course.
Hepatitis B, STD Testing, and Sexual Health in Phuket
Hepatitis B is a sexually transmitted infection. It passes more easily than HIV through unprotected sex, and it belongs on every full sexual health screen.
If you are considering STD testing after a night out in Patong, hepatitis B should be on that panel. Testing and vaccination can be handled in the same visit. There is no need to book two appointments or explain your reasons to anyone beyond the doctor.
One thing that matters here: if testing shows an active infection rather than protective immunity, vaccination is no longer the right step. This is why we test before vaccinating for anyone who has had potential exposure, not just those who want a straightforward vaccine. You can read more about what a full sexual health panel includes on our STD testing page.
Confidentiality is a real concern in a small resort community like Phuket. Private clinic testing means your results stay between you and your physician.
Getting a Hepatitis Vaccine at Takecare Clinic Phuket
Walk in, no appointment needed. The consultation takes around ten to fifteen minutes and covers your vaccine history, any relevant medical background, and which schedule fits your situation.
If you want a titer test before vaccinating, we draw blood on the same visit and follow up with results by phone or at a return appointment. If you are ready to start same-day, the injection is given before you leave.
Takecare Clinic Phuket is based in Patong and covers the whole island. Whether you are staying in Kata, Karon, Bang Tao, Kamala, Rawai, Nai Harn, Chalong, or Phuket Town, the clinic is accessible. We see tourists, expats, and long-stay residents, and we are used to working around onward travel dates and incomplete vaccine histories from other countries. You can review the hepatitis A and B vaccine schedule on our services page before you come in.
Travel insurance with direct billing is accepted. Bring your policy details and your insurer’s contact number.
Hepatitis A and B vaccines are available at Takecare Clinic Phuket with no appointment needed, seven days a week. Whether you are starting a course, continuing one from home, or want a titer test before vaccinating, walk in and speak to one of our English-speaking physicians. We are based in Patong and serve visitors and residents from Bang Tao and Kamala in the north to Rawai and Nai Harn in the south.
Frequently Asked Questions
Dr. Ponlawat Pitsuwan
Physician, Takecare Medical Clinic Phuket
a walk-in medical clinic based in Patong with English-speaking physician care for the whole island. He sees tourists, expats, and residents across Phuket for travel vaccinations, hepatitis A and B immunisation, sexual health screening, and preventive care. His focus is straightforward, evidence-based care delivered in plain language.
