Yellow fever vaccine only for ‘high risk’

At a news conference held at the Ministry of Health, Park Street, Port-of-Spain, Sundaraneedi said the ministry adopted the one-dose policy of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation which, in 2013, concluded that a single primary dose of the vaccine would provide lifelong protection. The experts said re-vaccination every ten years was no longer necessary for the general public. However, he noted that there was the “high risk” group, which consists of haematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients and HIV-infected persons, who would need to be given booster doses of the vaccine. Meanwhile, the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended postponing travel and yellow fever vaccination for pregnant women and also nine months after delivery.

If a pregnant woman is travelling to, or transiting through, areas where a vaccination certificate is required for yellow fever, but it is not currently a threat, the CDC advices carrying a physician’s waiver on the immunisation record.

Although the last yellow fever case in Trinidad was in 1979, Sundaraneedi reiterated that Trinidad and Tobago remains endemic because of the presence of the Red Howler monkey population which carries the yellow fever virus that can still be found in forested areas.

Agricultural personnel who frequent forested areas, hunters, forest workers, hikers and campers are among the list of persons who are eligible for yellow fever booster doses.