I visited my sister a couple of days ago and she was confused as to whether her sons (one and a half years four and a half years) needed to take the yellow fever vaccine again. I referred her to my blog 😀 I mean, after all, I spend all this time writing on it…people should read it, right?

I repeat the post below for your reading pleasure 😀

Q: Hi doc! I am kindly asking is it right to be given twice the yellow fever injection because l was given last year August which will last for 10 years.Is there a difference between yellow fever for ten years and life time? Thanks in advance

A: Hallos! Thanks for writing in.

Previously, the yellow fever vaccine was taken every ten years but since 2016, that regulation has changed. From 11th of July 2016, the WHO, on its website, states that the certificate of vaccination against yellow fever is valid for life for everyone vaccinated and that this validity refers to existing and new certificates. For the latter, the lifetime validity starts 10 days after date of vaccination. This has effectively cancelled out the need for re-vaccination.

So, there is no difference. The vaccination that used to be received and was valid for 10 years is now valid for the duration of your lifetime. If you had received the vaccination before, you don’t need to modify your certificate. The old one is still valid and will be recognized by countries that require proof of this vaccination.

I hope this helps.

All the best!

Have a good night y’all 😀