You must travel and can not find the yellow fever vaccine

On the occasion of a trip, Pablo Hirmas must be vaccinated against yellow fever. According to us, she called several clinics and they do not count on her and give her a date of arrival. He believes that it is the responsibility of the Ministry of Health to ensure that there are enough stocks in Chile for such a serious disease.

We consulted the Ministry of Health (Minsal) and they explained that the disease was not present in mainland Chile. that the vaccine does not appear in the immunization schedule of this entity.

Despite the above, as of 2018, a programmatic vaccination was initiated for 18-month-old infants residing on Easter Island, due to the mosquito transmitting disease (Aedes aegypti) is present in this area and presents a potential risk of infection. For them, there is an insured stock.

Destination: Brazil

Persons traveling to areas at risk of yellow fever should be inoculated according to the needs of the country of destination or following WHO / PAHO recommendations. with regard to selective vaccination – as is the case in some parts of Brazil – it is necessary to resort to international vaccinations of the private health system.

They specified that, in the country, the person in charge of providing vaccines for vaccinations of private health is the laboratory Sanofi Pasteur, who indicated that to date, he had no doses to distribute in his local warehouses.

After consulting with them, the company informed Minsal that the low availability of this vaccine in the world requires demand to exceed production capacity. They indicated that 43,000 doses would be available in Chile in November and December.

With regard to international batch delivery times, the laboratory has established priorities for vaccine distribution according to the epidemiological situation in each country. First, in the approved countries. secondly, in humanitarian operations, and thirdly, for private vaccination (travelers). Chile is in the latter situation because it does not present a situation of local epidemiological risk.

They stated that for tourists, it is recommended to administer the vaccine 10 days before traveling. These must be reported by a health professional and, at the time of purchase, the order in question and an identity document must be presented

. , which is characterized by acute fever and jaundice, followed by haemorrhage in 15-25% of infected patients

. These symptoms appear between three and six days after the bite of an infected mosquito. In an initial phase, it causes fever, muscle aches and headaches, chills, loss of appetite and nausea or vomiting. For most patients, this discomfort disappears after three to four days.