The Congo Launches One Million Dose Yellow Fever Vaccination Program

The Republic of Congo (the Congo) started a vaccination campaign on September 26, 2018, to control the spread of the yellow fever virus in the city of Pointe Noire and the surrounding areas. 

More than 1 million people from 9 months of age and older are expected to be vaccinated in this 6-day campaign. 

The vaccination campaign uses doses from the global emergency Yellow Fever vaccine stockpile managed by the International Coordination Group on Vaccine Provision (ICG). 

This Congo immunization drive is in response to a laboratory-confirmed yellow fever case, which tested positive on August 21, 2018. 

Since then, no additional yellow fever case has been confirmed in The Congo, which is located in western-central Africa.   

But, more than 200 suspected cases have been reported since the beginning of 2018, with most of these reported by the health authority in Pointe Noire, said the World Health Organization (WHO) in a press release.  

After declining for many years, yellow fever outbreaks are on the rise globally, says the WHO. 

The ease and speed of population movements, rapid urbanization and a resurgence of mosquitoes due to global warming have significantly increased the risk of urban outbreaks with an international spread. 

“Yellow fever has re-emerged as a public health threat in recent years in the African region,” said Dr. Ibrahima-Socé Fall, WHO’s Emergencies Director for Africa. 

“However, the vaccine is safe and provides life-long immunity. This reactive vaccination campaign is focusing on people who are most at risk and will set up a firewall which will prevent the virus from spreading further,” said Dr. Fall.

The neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo has shown solidarity with the Republic of Congo by lending more than 700,000 syringes for the vaccination campaign. 

The response to this outbreak is part of a comprehensive WHO strategy to eliminate yellow fever epidemics (EYE) globally by 2026. 

As part of the EYE Strategy, more than 4 million additional people are expected to be vaccinated in preventive mass campaigns in the Republic of Congo over the next few years.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 15 percent of people who get yellow fever develop serious illness that can be fatal.

Yellow fever is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that causes yellow fever virus, an acute infectious disease. 

There is good news regarding the availability of the yellow fever vaccine for USA citizens.

On September 7th, 2018, Sanofi Pasteur, the producer of the YF-VAX® (Yellow Fever Vaccine) now expects vaccine supply to return in the USA by mid-2019.

Sanofi said in a press statement that “With the most recent testing complete and the progress of the current validation activities confirmed, we adjusted our expectations for the return to the supply of YF-VAX vaccine.” 

Sanofi’s goal is to support continued access to yellow fever vaccination for travelers to international destinations where the yellow fever vaccine is required or recommended, such as Brazil. 

Sanofi has worked with the FDA to distribute the STAMARIL® (Yellow Fever Vaccine [Live])  through an Expanded Access Program (EAP) until production of the YF-VAX vaccine resumes, in its new facility. 

The EAP allows the importation and use of STAMARIL in place of YF-VAX vaccine to fulfill U.S. yellow fever immunization demand until production of YF-VAX vaccine resumes. 

Pharmacists, healthcare providers, and patients can find locations that can administer STAMARIL vaccine by visiting the CDC web page. 

STAMARIL is currently distributed in over 70 countries. 

Providers and patients may also visit CDC Travel for information about which countries require yellow fever vaccination for entry and for which countries the CDC recommends yellow fever vaccination. 

To schedule a travel vaccination appointment, please visit Vax-Before-Travel. 

The CDC Vaccine Price List provides private sector vaccine prices for general information. And, vaccine discounts can be found here. 

Vaccines, like any medicine, can have side effects. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of vaccines to the FDA or CDC.