No booster dose for yellow fever vaccination: what are the consequences for the activity of vaccination in travel clinics?

ABSTRACT

In April 2013, the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on immunization stated that a single dose of yellow fever (YF) vaccine is sufficient in the general population to confer a lifelong protection against YF. When the period of validity of the International Certificate of Vaccination (ICV) will be extended to a lifetime in June 2016, no booster dose will be needed. The objective of this prospective study was to determine the potential impact of the SAGE recommendations on the vaccination activity of our travel clinics. We showed that among 1,037 subjects seen in our three travel clinics for a YF vaccination in 2013, about 32.3% went for a booster dose that is no longer useful according to the SAGE. A drop in vaccination activity has to be expected by travel clinics in the next years, and changes in daily exercise have to be anticipated, as YF vaccination is a large part of the regular work of many healthcare providers specialized in travel medicine.