Travel clinics warn of Yellow Fever vaccine shortage

TRAVEL clinics are
expecting a shortage of
the Yellow Fever vaccine.
Without a Yellow Fever
certificate, a traveller won’t
be granted entry into a
country that falls within
the Yellow Fever borders,
says Lucinda Tyler, product
manager of Club Travel.
Agents agree that the most
visited countries on the
Yellow Fever list are Kenya,
Nigeria, Ghana, Angola, DRC
and Rwanda. According to
Debbie Joubert, md of Sure
Travel 24-7, most corporate
clients who travel to these
countries do so regularly and
already have Yellow Fever
certificates, which are valid
for ten years.
Because clinics can’t
confirm when the stockpile
will run out locally, Monique
Hartslief, regional sales
manager of Pentravel,
advises that agents contact
a clinic and check availability
before they accept final
payment from a client.
Debbie says travellers can
get the vaccination from
any travel clinic or general
practitioner. In addition to
getting the vaccination, she
suggests enquiring whether
or not it is necessary to get
malaria medication as an
extra precaution as there
have been some unexpected
outbreaks in several African
countries recently.