QCOSTARICA – The Ministry of Health reported on Friday that the authorized distributor for the sale of the Yellow Fever vaccine now has sufficient doses to cover the national demand.
Due to dose shortage up to May 8, people were permitted to travel without the yellow fever vaccine requirement.
Yellow fever is a disease caused by a virus that is spread through mosquito bites. Symptoms take 3–6 days to develop and include fever, chills, headache, backache, and muscle aches. About 15% of people who get yellow fever develop serious illness that can lead to bleeding, shock, organ failure, and sometimes death.
Yellow fever is a viral infection that is transmitted by a particular type of mosquito. The infection is more frequent in parts of Africa and South America and affects travelers and residents of these areas.
Flying into Costa Rica from listed countries MUST be vaccinated against Yellow Fever no less than TEN days prior to entering Costa Rica. In the Americas, the listed countries include: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, French Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.
There are exemptions to the yellow fever vaccine requirement, for example, those 60 and over, pregnant women or lactating, a family history of adverse events associated with vaccination against the yellow fever vaccine, among others.
