Yellow Fever Dilemma

Where did you find the info on people over 60 should not be getting a Yellow Fever shot? I had mine last year at the travel clinic, and was 67.

From among other places, the CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov/yellowfever/vaccine/index.html.

It states:
Precautions (conditions for which the risks of the vaccine and the disease should be carefully considered)
•Age 6 to 8 months
•Age ≥60 years
•Asymptomatic HIV infection and CD4+ T-lymphocytes 200 to 499/mm3 (15-24% of total in children aged <6 years)
•Pregnancy
•Breastfeeding

Our regional pharmacy, Walgreens, which provides travel vaccinations, has a policy that they will not administer YF shots for anyone over 60 years.

I've checked around a few government health related websites and found also that there is an issue for those over 60 years. However it is less of a problem for those over 60 who have previous had yellow fever vaccinations. I am therefore assuming that the next time I want to get one my travel doctor will note from my yellow health book that I have had yellow fever vaccinations before.

Always best I think we such things to check out with your own physician or a travel doctor.

this is what the Australian govt health site has to say

"Who can have a yellow fever vaccination?
The yellow fever vaccine is recommended for:

persons who are nine months of age or older travelling or living in any country in West Africa, regardless of where they will be in that country; and
persons who are nine months of age or older travelling or living outside the urban areas of all other yellow fever endemic countries.

Travellers should seek medical advice on vaccination for their individual medical circumstances, particularly about the suitability of yellow fever vaccine for infants, pregnant women and those who are immuno-compromised."

This is what the UK government site says under the heading of who should not be vaccinated -

yellow fever naïve travellers – those who have not been previously exposed to the vaccine who are 60 years of age or over (unless the risk of yellow fever is unavoidable)

Hi Lhardem,
The CDC website does say Precaution for people over 60, which is not the same as a Contraindication.
If you are unable to take the YF Vaccine for medical reasons, your doctor can write an exemption. Really the best thing to do is discuss with your doctor, or even better, visit a Travel Clinic!

Happy Travels(even over 60!)
Fran

I usually hang out on the Health Branch, but I found this thread while searching for something else.

You can find more complete information on yellow fever & the vaccine here Travel Health--Yellow Fever from the CDC.

It's rather technical, but for older people, it boils down to: for the traveler's own protection, you have to look at the risk of getting the vaccine vs. the risk of getting yellow fever. Yellow fever is very rare in travelers. It is primarily a disease of primates, but can spread to people. Should an outbreak occur in a populated area, it could indeed result in a serious epidemic. YF can be fatal--there is no treatment other than symptomatic.

If you are going to a place where there has been no recent outbreak in humans, then it may indeed be prudent ot get an exemption rather than be vaccinated.

If you scroll about halfway down that web page, you'll come to Medical Waivers (Exemptions). That explains how to get the exemption. It is more than jut a letter; you also have the exemption section signed. It is best if you get this done at an official YF center, so the certificate can be stamped.

"We require a certificate" is not the same as "we always ask to see it," so you may never even have to produce it. But you should carry it. In some places, border officials may see the lack of a cert as an opportunity for fund raising. I have heard of this only in Africa and only at more obscure land crossings.

Before you go to a country that requires YF cert, you might want to ask on the appropriate destination branch to see if anyone has been having problems lately. You can also ask the Health Branch if there is a current outbreak somewhere. There is currently one in the Kasai-Oriental province of the DEmocratic Republic of the Congo, should that be on your current list.

Thanks to all for your helpful comments.

What you haven't said is whether you have had the jab before which I was advised makes a big difference. Me being difficult asked, How big a difference? but doctors don't do stats. so I don't know. I seem to remember that if you have had the jab before protection might last longer than previously thought so the choice is yours and maybe depends on the doc you meet. Mine gave me the jab at 68 knowing where I was likely to end up.