Yellow Fever Waiver

Has anyone had the Yellow Fever Waiver from their doctor as opposed to taking the vaccine?

Our doctor today chose to give us a Waiver due to our ages of 81 and 75 rather than give the vaccine.

Our cruise line says it is okay, but I am wondering about the authorities with South Africa. We are flying into Cape Town, taking a safari for 3 days and then boarding the ship sailing up the east coast of Africa ending up in Singapore in mid January.

Your comments regarding this wavier would be appreciated.

A waiver is quite usual for those over (?) 65, due to possible complications / side-effects of the vaccine. I don't think it's any less acceptable on your itinerary than elsewhere.

But it does need that official waiver certificate, folk can't simply say I don't have a certificate because I'm over-age.

JB :)

Thank you John Bull. I was given a letter with the letterhead and the option of "waiver" due to age was checked, signed by the doctor in charge of International Travel, and stamped with the official stamp over the heading "Yellow Fever"

How can I be assured that is the proper form? Kelsey Seybold in Houston is supposed to be a leading medical travel organization. I have gotten so many answers. Help :confused:

Thank you John Bull. I was given a letter with the letterhead and the option of "waiver" due to age was checked, signed by the doctor in charge of International Travel, and stamped with the official stamp over the heading "Yellow Fever"

 

How can I be assured that is the proper form? Kelsey Seybold in Houston is supposed to be a leading medical travel organization. I have gotten so many answers. Help :confused:

I'm no expert, but it sounds like your advisor is qualified and that you have the correct paperwork.:)

What "different answers" have you been given? And by whom?

This is an international health regulation, its requirements & exemptions shouldn't vary from country to country.

Here are details from the US govt CDC website, the UK govt National Health website and an Aus website, and they all say much the same thing.

http://www.cdc.gov/travel-training/local/PreTravelConsultationandBestPractices/page24195.html

https://www.nathnac.org/pro/documents/exemption.pdf

http://www.thetraveldoctor.com.au/blog/yellow-fever-exemption/

Judging from this web-page (read the whole page), South Africa conforms to those Regulations by accepting visitors with an exemption certificate

http://www.southafrica.net/za/en/travel-tips/entry/travel-tip-yellow-fever-entry-requirements

If you want the confidence of knowing that any of your other ports of call requiring a certificate also conform with the exemption, just google " (country) yellow fever exemption certificate"

BTW, Your advisor should also have informed you of the risk to your own health of not having the inoculation - the level of risk will depend on factors such as your medical history, the countries that you visit, which parts of those countries, whether you overnite in those places, etc. Cruising is generally accepted to be low risk - mosquitos don't like the sea, nor do they like air-con.

Your advisor should have also given you hints about other ways of reducing your risk when ashore. Such as the use of sprays, and covering arms & ankles (eg by tucking your long pants into your socks, same as folk do when cycling to avoid fouling up with the cycle's chain)

To re-iterate, I'm just a traveller, not a doctor.

But you have taken professional advice & I feel you are worrying unnecessarily.;)

JB :)

Odd, my wife, son, and I have visited South Africa in the recent past and never had a yellow fever shot. I really don't think it is required. However, I strongly suggest malaria pills if you are going into a malarial area. But yellow fever, I don't think so. Again, I am not a health care professional by any means. Just that we never have had the yellow fever vaccination for South Africa. If you are going on to some other country in Africa, for example, Ghana, etc., then yes, it is required. I know nothing about waivers. Good luck.

For South Africa, if you have been to a yellow fever country, then they require it. We had it for our trip in January, but it was not even scrutinized when we returned back to South Africa from Zimbabwe. Supposedly if you go to Zimbabwe , you have to have the yellow fever shot or the certificate saying that you have a waiver from the shot.

For South Africa, if you have been to a yellow fever country, then they require it. We had it for our trip in January, but it was not even scrutinized when we returned back to South Africa from Zimbabwe. Supposedly if you go to Zimbabwe , you have to have the yellow fever shot or the certificate saying that you have a waiver from the shot.

We also visited Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe side. Nothing about having to have a yellow fever shot when we returned to South Africa.

We also visited Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe side. Nothing about having to have a yellow fever shot when we returned to South Africa.

My understanding is that if you visit the Zambia side of Victoria Falls and then go to South Africa, you will need either a Yellow Fever vaccination certificate or a waiver. No issue if you stay on the Zimbabwe side of Victoria Falls.

Bob

Be sure to get the waiver on the appropriate form.

Keith

My husband got the Yellow Fever waiver for travel to Tanzania (from Kenya), and it was confusing as to what they would accept. Some said it had to be on a waiver form, others said a letter from a physician, etc. We contacted the tour company direct that was handling the specific tour in Tanzania and was told all he needed was a letter on his physician's letterhead and signed by the physician - not a stamp or signature stamp, but an original signature, and an explanation as to why he could not take the vaccine. It was sufficient for him, and it really does seem to depend on the mood of the people at the entry point. One couple on our tour arrived with a copy of an email sent to them by their physician merely stating they could not receive the vaccine, without any explanation, and both were under 60 years of age. Some require the travel physician's signature and stamp on the Yellow card, along with a note saying "see attached waiver", and the person's physician's letter is attached. We tried calling the local tour company who booked the tour for us, the CDC, embassies and consulates, and got different answers from all of them. We decided the people with the firsthand knowledge would be those in country contracted by our tour company who are actually running the tours since they are with the tourists and know what is needed at the particular border, and once we contacted them and got their response, we did what they requested and did not have any problems.

I forgot to mention that the couple who arrived with the email from their physician did not have any problem. I, personally, would not count on something like that, especially when everything we were told and read stated it required a signature from a physician on the physician's letterhead, as well as a reason for the waiver. The confusion for us was the format in which they wanted the waiver. We brought several letters with original signatures in case they needed to be kept by authorities along the way, but no one kept anything.

On my bucket list is South Africa. We also want to go back to New Zealand.

I have found cruises from Cape Town to the UK but haven't found New Zealand.

It seems Cunard has a segment from Auckland to Cape Town but I want to go the other way and end up in New Zealand,

Any helpful responses are welcome. Thank you. :)

On my bucket list is South Africa. We also want to go back to New Zealand.

 

I have found cruises from Cape Town to the UK but haven't found New Zealand.

 

It seems Cunard has a segment from Auckland to Cape Town but I want to go the other way and end up in New Zealand,

 

Any helpful responses are welcome. Thank you. :)

Sorry, this is in the wrong place. :o