– No crisis, Minister Cummings says

MINISTER within the Ministry of Public Health, Dr Karen Cummings, has admitted that there is a shortage of Yellow Fever vaccines in Guyana, but she urged the public to “remain calm.” During an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, the minister noted that certain airlines and countries such as Jamaica have demanded that persons from Guyana be immunized against the Yellow Fever virus. As such, she attested that this shortage is due to the “alarming rate” at which these vaccines are being sought after in Guyana.
However, Dr Cummings has reassured the public that a new shipment of vaccines is being brought in, but this shipment will take some two weeks before it arrives in Guyana. In the meantime, Minister of Public Health Dr Norton has said that a shipment of vaccines from Belize and Barbados will be arriving in one week’s time.
Additionally, Minister Cummings has given the assurance that “we are not faced with a crisis.” She reiterated that persons who were vaccinated before just need to produce their “card” and will be allowed to travel.
She also noted that PAHO/WHO, Washington D.C (USA) office has considered Guyana’s current shortage of vaccines and has pleaded with the Jamaican Government not to demand that persons from Guyana be immunized.
The outbreak of the fatal disease in Angola has prompted several countries to impose a travel requirement for yellow fever vaccination. According to a recent release from the ministry, persons travelling to countries listed as “endemic” for yellow fever (mainly in Africa and Asia) should also be in possession of a valid International Certificate of Vaccination.
However, residents of Guyana are not required to show proof of immunization for travel to and from the United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, and most Caribbean and South American countries. One dose of the yellow fever vaccine, even if received as a child, is now valid for life, according to the World Health Organisation’s International Health Regulations.