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Yellow fever vaccination over 60s


Suzie2
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Costa Rica and Belize require a Yellow Fever Vaccination certificate for entry into the country after visiting Colombia. However, Nhs website advises that the YF vaccination for over 60s who have never had the vaccination before is very risky and advise that an exemption certicate can be obtained from your medical Practitioner. Has anyone over 60 had the vaccine and have they suffered any side effects please?

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Just shy of my 61st birthday after telling my physician [board Certified in Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, and Travel Medicine] that I was planning to visit Iguassu Falls... His decision may have been influenced by the fact that--just by virtue of being a Type 2 Diabetic as so many are--I am somewhat immuno-compromised... In any case, I personally experienced no untoward after-effects--other than an achy arm for a day or two, not unlike a typical reaction to an annual flu shot--for having done so... Your mileage may, of course, vary but--if my doc had any concerns--he didn't share them with me...

 

That said, looking forward to returning to South America next month!

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Costa Rica and Belize require a Yellow Fever Vaccination certificate for entry into the country after visiting Colombia. However, Nhs website advises that the YF vaccination for over 60s who have never had the vaccination before is very risky and advise that an exemption certicate can be obtained from your medical Practitioner. Has anyone over 60 had the vaccine and have they suffered any side effects please?

 

Have you checked with your nurse at your GP's surgery to confirm if you definitely need YF? Sometimes if you're only visiting for the day and not going into the interior for an extended stay, you don't need the vaccines (your nurse will advise you). I take it your cruising on Equinox on their Ultimate Caribbean itinerary?

 

I'm sure other pax from previous cruises will jump on here and advise you if you actually need the certificate at all? (Wallie5446, didn't you take this cruise recently?) I know Cartagena and Bogota are listed as not needing protection from malaria because of their high altitude. I'll be interested to find out for definite as we are also taking this itinerary in April and are due to see our nurse next month ;).

Edited by villauk
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Costa Rica and Belize require a Yellow Fever Vaccination certificate for entry into the country after visiting Colombia. However, Nhs website advises that the YF vaccination for over 60s who have never had the vaccination before is very risky and advise that an exemption certicate can be obtained from your medical Practitioner. Has anyone over 60 had the vaccine and have they suffered any side effects please?

 

We were on a Panama canal cruise last year and visited Colombia and Costa Rica did not need a YF vac. Check with your GP practice.

 

Susan

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I would recommend going to the CDC website and look at the Travel Health section. It has drop downs for each country you are visiting and will let you know if a vaccine is "just recommened" or "required" to enter the country.It goes over what the risk are for the disease,such as how long you will be in the high risk area,season,and altitude where you will be. They keep site updated with changes and has LOTS of good information. I have worked in a travel clinic and have often given Yellow Fever to individuals over 60 and never had a severe reaction. That is not to say it could not happen and I would defer you to a specialist, usually Infectious Disease regarding your specific health status if you have more questions.

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We were on this cruise in November. No one asked if we were vaccinated for Yellow Fever. I don't think it is an issue for day visitors. They did recommend using a good repellant (containing Deet) in both Costa Rica and Belize for those of us doing rain forest or jungle excursions.

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We have done three full transits of the Panama Canal, including one from Caribbean to Pacific which had a port call in Columbia prior to a port call in Costa Rica. We were not asked for any type of yellow fever vaccination certificate proof at that Costa Rica port call.

 

Next month we will be boarding the Infinity for a B2B2B series of cruises which takes us around South America. I asked with our family physician about the need for a yellow fever shot. Since we are on a cruise and not taking extended trips inland he did not recommend a yellow fever shot.

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I took the yellow fever vaccine to go to Africa when I was in my mid 60's. I had no problems, no side effects. Arm was a bit sore.

 

Carolyn

DW and I both had the yellow fever vaccine four years ago (mid to early 60s) and had no side effects.

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In the recent past we have cruised to Belize and Costa Rica and never were required to have a Yellow fever immunization nor did we consider it or get one.

 

We are cruising around the horn of South America in March and have two days planned at Iguazu Falls. YF is not required for any of our ports while it is recommended for anyone traveling to Iguazu. My husband and I did get the shot at age 66 . Mosquitos love me so after discussing the pros and cons at the travel clinic, I opted for it and hubby did also because he is diabetes type 2. Neither of us had any reaction, just a bit of sore arm.

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  • 1 year later...

Bumping... Anyone recently with westbound Panama Canal experience and the Yellow Fever notation of coming from ports in Colombia and Panama? Folks on our rollcall have called The cruiseline and been given conflicting information.

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2016/infectious-diseases-related-to-travel/yellow-fever-malaria-information-by-country/costa-rica#seldyfm707

ImageUploadedByForums1476074245.672627.jpg.51b4c3e4b4cb3eecfe245bce6e2810fa.jpg

ImageUploadedByForums1476074173.372834.jpg.166d9e87a62982ead371d498e785eb68.jpg

Edited by MandyGirl
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  • 2 months later...

Yellow fever is an RNA virus and yes it can kill. In fact in earlier America, we had outbreaks in the US. In Philadelphia in 1793, several thousand people died from Yellow Fever about 9 percent of the population. The last major outbreak in the United States occurred in New Orleans in 1903. In 1853 in New Orleans 7,849 died from yellow fever. Yellow fever starts with symptoms like the flu... Headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting. However roughly 15 percent of patients with yellow fever progress to a severe form of the disease and develop big fevers, jaundice (turning yellow because of liver involvement), internal bleeding, seizures, shock, organ failure. HAlf of all who develop the severe form of the disease will die.

 

As the world is getting smaller with all of us traveling. We do have to be aware of these international diseases and for Yellow Fever we have a vaccine. I will be traveling through Central America and I love nature and are out and about on port stops. Yellow Fever is something preventable. I opted on the side of caution and got the vaccine. I am 63 but have had the yellow fever vaccine twice before in my 20ies and 30ies while serving in our military. I had soreness at the injection site and a week of being a little achy but nothing major. I actually think vaccines are good for older people since as we age our immune system becomes less functional and vaccines stimulate the immune system.

Edited by Ferry Beach Kayaker
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We have a deposit on a cruise in October that goes down the Amazon River. Our travel doctor said she would advise us to go on this cruise ONLY if we get the yellow fever vaccine and that we were in good health to get it (and we are slightly over 70). If you look at the CDC website there is a map showing regions with yellow fever. We did not need it to go to Peru, Costa Rica, Belize, and others a couple of years ago, but most of Brazil is in the yellow fever zone. Just depends on where in SA you are going. We've received no information from the cruise line on this, even after I asked for their requirements.

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