Rehab Medical

Health information

Vaccinations

Egypt's childhood programme is free at government health units and covers BCG at birth, hepatitis B, polio, the pentavalent vaccine and measles-containing vaccine through the first two years. What a family practice adds is the rest: catching up a card with gaps, the adult vaccines nobody offers you automatically — flu every autumn if you are over 65, pregnant, diabetic or have a chest condition — and a straight answer to whatever you have read.

When it cannot wait

Signs that mean today

These are not reasons to book an appointment. They are reasons to be seen now, or to call an ambulance on 123.

  • After any vaccine: difficulty breathing, swelling of the face, lips or tongue, or collapse — that is anaphylaxis. Call 123 immediately. It is rare, and it happens within minutes, which is why we ask you to wait fifteen minutes after an injection.
  • A fit, unusual high-pitched crying that will not settle, or a limp unresponsive episode in a baby after a vaccine.
  • A fever over 40°C, or any fever in the first 48 hours that comes with drowsiness rather than just crankiness.
  • Spreading redness, heat and pain at the injection site after day two — that is a wound infection, not a normal reaction.

When to book

Reasons to be seen

  • A dose was missed or delayed. Almost nothing needs restarting from the beginning — we catch up from where you are.
  • You are pregnant and want to know what is recommended and what is not — flu vaccine is safe at any stage and is specifically recommended.
  • You have diabetes, a heart or lung condition, no spleen, or take immunosuppressants — the adult schedule is different for you and it is rarely explained.
  • You need a documented record for a school, a visa, a new job or a pilgrimage.

What a visit looks like

What a visit for this involves

  • 25–30 minutesClinic visitAt the clinic, unhurried
  • 20 minutesVideo consultationFrom anywhere in Egypt
  • 15 minutesFollow-upAfter a recent visit, same complaint

In the room

What the doctor checks

  1. Your card read line by line against the national schedule, and a written catch-up plan if there are gaps — including which ones you can get free at a government unit.
  2. A check for real contraindications, which are far narrower than most people think: a mild cold is not one, and neither is a course of antibiotics.
  3. The injection given properly, and fifteen minutes of observation afterwards.
  4. What is normal afterwards, in specifics: a sore arm and a low fever for a day or two, and exactly when that stops being normal.

Come prepared

What to bring

  • Every vaccination record you have, including ones from another country or another clinic.
  • A note of any previous reaction, and what exactly happened — 'an allergy' recorded thirty years ago is usually not one.
  • The requirement itself if this is for a visa, a school or a pilgrimage — the wording decides which vaccine and which certificate.

Next step

Tell us what's happening and we'll arrange the right kind of visit.

Message the clinic on WhatsApp. We reply with the times that are free and what the visit costs, before you agree to anything.

Book on WhatsApp

At home

Between visits

  • Photograph the card after every visit and keep it in your phone. Cards get lost far more often than doses get missed.
  • A sore arm or a low fever is the immune system working. Paracetamol if it is uncomfortable; nothing routinely beforehand.
  • Book the next dose before you leave. The commonest reason a schedule fails is not refusal — it is a forgotten date.

Before you write

Questions patients ask

Written and clinically reviewed by Dr. Rehab Ahmed, MBBCh, Ain Shams University · Diploma in Family Medicine. Last reviewed August 2026.

What this page is based on

This page is general information written by the practice. It is not a diagnosis and does not replace seeing a doctor. In an emergency, call 123.

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