Cholera Vaccine (Dukoral, Oral) – 2- or 3-Dose Course

Dukoral is a drinkable vaccine that helps protect against cholera, a diarrhoeal infection spread through contaminated food and water. It may be recommended for travellers to areas with cholera risk, especially where sanitation and access to safe food and water are limited, and for long-stay or humanitarian travel. At Ways Pharmacy it is supplied only after a pharmacist has assessed your itinerary and health and confirmed it is suitable for you.

How to get this vaccine

1. Start your free online assessment. Answer the health questions online and confirm your identity (upload photo ID, or show it on a video call).
2. Pharmacist reviews and speaks with you. A GPhC-registered pharmacist reviews your itinerary, health, medicines and previous vaccines and checks that Dukoral is suitable.
3. If suitable, pay and book. Once the pharmacist confirms Dukoral is suitable, choose the course for the traveller's age and pay on this page, or call 020 8106 7084 to book. Please call before you visit so we can confirm the vaccine is in stock. If the pharmacist decides Dukoral is not suitable for you, you pay nothing. If you have already paid and the pharmacist decides Dukoral is not suitable for you, you receive a full refund.
4. Collect your course at our Holborn pharmacy. Children attend with a parent or guardian. The pharmacist explains how to mix and take each dose and how to store it, and you can take the first dose in the pharmacy. Keep the remaining doses in the fridge (2–8°C) and do not freeze them.

There is no separate consultation fee. Dukoral must be kept cold, so it is supplied in person at our Holborn pharmacy and cannot be posted.

About this vaccine

How to take Dukoral

• Doses are taken at least 1 week apart, and the last dose must be taken at least 1 week before you travel. Doses should not be more than 6 weeks apart, otherwise the course needs to be restarted
• Do not eat or drink for 1 hour before and 1 hour after each dose, and keep other medicines taken by mouth apart from the vaccine as the pharmacist advises
• Dissolve the buffer sachet in a glass of cool water, then add the vaccine and drink it. For children aged 2–5, half of the buffer solution is poured away before the vaccine is added; the pharmacist will show you how
• Booster: age 6 and over, one dose if more than 2 years have passed since the course; age 2–5, one dose if more than 6 months have passed

Warnings and who should not have this vaccine

• Children under 2
• Anyone allergic to Dukoral or any of its ingredients, or who had a severe reaction to a previous dose
• Anyone with a high temperature or a stomach or bowel upset on the day — the dose is postponed
• Anyone who cannot finish the course at least 1 week before travel
• Pregnancy or breastfeeding, or a weakened immune system, need individual assessment — tell the pharmacist

Dukoral gives short-term protection and does not replace careful food, water and hand hygiene while you travel.

Possible side effects

Common side effects are mild stomach upset, abdominal discomfort, nausea and diarrhoea. Headache and mild fever are less common. Get urgent medical help if you develop difficulty breathing or swelling of the face or throat.

See all vaccines and prices on our travel vaccinations in Holborn page.

Regulatory information

• Legal status: Prescription-only medicine (POM), supplied under a Patient Group Direction after pharmacist assessment
• Pharmacy: Ways Pharmacy, 77 Southampton Row, London WC1B 4ET · GPhC-registered premises 9012227 · Monday to Friday, 9:00am–6:00pm
• Patient information leaflet: electronic Medicines Compendium (emc)
• Report suspected side effects through the MHRA Yellow Card Scheme

This page gives factual information about a prescription-only vaccine and is not an advertisement to the public. It is given only after a pharmacist has assessed that it is suitable for you.