Seek immunisation record before asking for new yellow fever vaccine

-CMO urges

With a global shortage of the Yellow Fever Vaccine, the Ministry of Public Health is appealing to prospective travellers to other endemic countries to consider locating their local immunisation records before requesting a new dosage of the vaccine.

This is according to Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Shamdeo Persaud, who was at the time commenting on the depletion of the country’s supply of yellow fever vaccine.

Alluding to the fact that only one dose of the vaccine is required to provide lifelong immunity against the virus, Persaud related that because Guyana has an excellent immunisation coverage, most Guyanese would have received the yellow fever vaccine, as it is one that forms the ministry’s immunisation schedule.

With this in mind, the CMO implored those required to show proof of immunisation against the Yellow Fever virus during international travel to submit the relevant documentation to the designated health site and have their international Yellow Fever card issued, instead of just showing up and requesting the vaccine.

In the instance of being unable to locate such documents, Persaud noted that such situations can be sometimes be rectified by visiting the health facility where they would have received the immunisation and requesting the relevant documentation to show proof of immunisation.

This, in turn could be presented to the relevant personnel for the issuing of the yellow card, he said.

By following this alternative, Dr. Persaud said, the Ministry would better be able to utilise the country’s supply of the vaccine in wake of the shortage.

When asked about the possible effect the current unavailability of the vaccine would have on travelers who would require the vaccine or rather, proof of immunisation, he reiterated the fact only persons travelling to endemic countries, mainly Asia and Africa, would be required to produce proof of immunisation.

Proof of immunisation from Guyanese is not required for entry to the US, UK, Europe, Canada or most Caribbean and South American countries.

Meanwhile, Persaud was quick to point out that the supply of vaccine for children, in keeping with the ministry’s immunisation schedule, is guaranteed.

And while he was unable to offer an estimate for the number of vaccines that arrived in the country’s last shipment, Persaud noted that there may be some adjustments made with regards to quantity in the next batch, which is expected to arrive in on August 31.

This, he said, would be done to cater for the increase that the Ministry has seen since the first health advisory was published.

With an ongoing outbreak in the Southern African state of Angola, the need for global supply of the vaccine has increased tremendously.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) website, while over 15 million persons have been vaccinated against yellow fever virus in Angola alone, the need for more doses of the vaccine remains. This has since forced the WHO to consider administering the vaccine in fractional doses in areas where the supply capacity of the vaccines has been threatened or inadequate.

However, the CMO noted that because Guyana lies within an endemic zone, the Ministry of Public Health would continue to administer the full dose of the vaccine.