Yellow Fever

On Friday I started calling around to set up my vaccination appointment. I had been advised to go to my county's health department in order to get the cheapest shots. Upon calling though, I found out that they were out of the Yellow Fever vaccination. I called another nearby county. Also out. The woman informed me that there was a worldwide shortage. I gave up and called the TravelWell clinic at Emory, a more expensive (but possibly a better) consultation choice. I was put off by the fact that the vaccine was almost twice as much, that my consultation fee alone would be almost $80 and that I would have to wait almost three weeks to get in. I decided to check a few more places just in case. Yesterday I called a clinic to which the woman at TravelWell had referred me. I asked about Yellow Fever. "We're out," said the woman, "but I can put you on our waiting list." I responded that it was ok and I knew of a place that had the vaccine in stock. "Well in that case you should run and not walk there...there is a worldwide shortage and they're going fast." Now concerned more than ever, I called TravelWell back right away and set up my appointment.

The shortage of the Yellow Fever vaccine piqued my interest. Yellow Fever is a virus that is spread through mosquitoes and causes flu-like symptoms along with jaundice (hence the name). In it's most severe cases it can lead to organ system failure and death. I did some research on the vaccine and found out on the CDC's website that it's one of the safest and most effective vaccines ever created! The manufacturer of the vaccine is sanofi-aventis. Earlier this year when an epidemic broke out in Brazil and Paraguay, the pharmaceutical company was able to send 6 million emergency doses through UNICEF to help those countries. I remember reading about that outbreak a few months back but as with anything we read, our brains don't make the connection until it becomes personal. The Yellow Fever outbreak in Paraguay was the first one in six decades to produce fatal cases of the disease. So, the outbreak in the Americas caused a big part of the depletion. The WHO is worried because the global emergency stockpiles are severely depleted and this makes preventative vaccination a problem too. About 30-35 million doses of the vaccine are created per year and they only cost 60 cents to make. Kind of makes my blood boil that I'm paying $157 to get the vaccine. Better safe than sorry though. My appointment is June 18th and I'll be consulting with a doctor about safe travel tips and other precautions I'll need to take while in Africa.