WITH an increase in the number of yellow fever vaccines being administered since a recent public advisory was announced, it became necessary to replenish the supplies and Chief Medical Officer Shamdeo Persaud has said that a shipment of vaccines will be arriving around August 25.This shipment was scheduled to arrive in Guyana some two weeks after the Guyana Chronicle spoke with Minister within the Ministry of Public Health, Karen Cummings, on July 27.

Another supply should have already been brought into Guyana as Minister of Public Health Dr George Norton said on July 27 also that Guyana would be receiving vaccines requested from Belize and Barbados.

Meanwhile, the CMO noted that some countries that have stipulated that Guyanese who are travelling must present validation that they are immunized against the yellow fever virus, have become less stringent and in some cases are not even requesting proof of immunization status anymore.

He said, “Trinidad, Suriname… Jamaica, they’ve all now released their stringent requirements” for Guyanese who would be travelling into their countries. This comes as a result of their confidence that Guyana has a highly impeccable immunization system and there are no cases of yellow fever in Guyana.

CMO Persaud also noted that he believes almost everyone in Guyana has been immunized, but the problem remains that some persons may not be able to find their International Yellow Fever Vaccination Record (Yellow Card).

He reaffirmed that as long as you go to the centre where you received the vaccine, you would be able to obtain a card to validate your immunization. (Vishanie Ragobeer)