medical waiver for yellow fever vaccination

We just received a last minute notice from Regent notifying us that a vaccination was required unless a doctor's medical waiver was provided and shown upon arrival. We previously went to a reputable travel clinic where they reviewed our itinerary and looked up health requirements for our destinations and told us nothing other than what we already had was required. The requirement does not appear to be Zika related.

The requirement by Regent has surprised us but we want to comply and have contacted our doctor for the waiver. There was no direction as to the form or substance required in the waiver. If anyone has had experience with a vaccination waiver, we would be grateful for any information and or advice on what information or form the waiver needs.

Thank you.

Lynsy

My DH and I have submitted medical waivers for a couple of cruises that we have done to Brazil. All that was necessary was a letter from our doctor indicating that, for medical reasons (or could be age reasons), we are not able to have a Yellow Fever vaccination. Thinking back, I don't remember Regent ever asking for the letter but I'm glad that we had it.

My husband just received a medical waiver for the yellow fever shot. The waiver has to be on the same yellow WHO form as the yellow fever shot and has to be stamped by a certified yellow fever provider. Just a letter from a doctor is not sufficient.

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My husband just received a medical waiver for the yellow fever shot. The waiver has to be on the same yellow WHO form as the yellow fever shot and has to be stamped by a certified yellow fever provider. Just a letter from a doctor is not sufficient.

 

 

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Is this something new? I haven't seen this mentioned on CC before. This could be an issue for the many Regent passengers 65 and older for whom the vaccination is not recommended. Thank you for the information.

The Travel Clinic we used provided an exclusion letter from the doctor and stated that we were not eligible for the Yellow Fever Vaccination due to our age. It has to be an original on their letterhead.

This was for our trip Cape Town to Singapore in Dec. 14/Jan. 15. Upon check-in, they took the letter and filed it with our passport.

CDC advises the certificate and a letter:

http://www.cdc.gov/travel-training/local/PreTravelConsultationandBestPractices/page24195.html

I want to do the minimum required. Having a doctors letter used to be sufficient. We are interested in this topic as we will be booking an Amazon cruise next week while onboard the Explorer. And, it sounds as if the OP needs the information ASAP.

My husband just received a medical waiver for the yellow fever shot. The waiver has to be on the same yellow WHO form as the yellow fever shot and has to be stamped by a certified yellow fever provider. Just a letter from a doctor is not sufficient.

 

 

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I was told that I didn't need to follow the hullabaloo about the waiver being on the same yellow form. I just had a doctor's letter and Regent never asked for it. Same thing when flying into SA; no one asked for it.

Marc

No one would ask for it when flying into SA. Also, it is not required when visiting the Amazon. However, some countries require it if you are returning fron the Amazon, so it depends on your itinerary. In our case, we are going to French Guiana. I don't know if they actually ask for it, but it seems better to safe than sorry.

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Here is our experience.

We did Lisbon to Cape Town last year and required the yellow fever shot. When we went to the Medical Travel Clinic the doctor explained that due to my DW medical history (Bone Marrow Transplant patient) and my age (70+) there was more risk from the live vaccine then there would be chance of contracting the disease. Therefore we were given a yellow card similar to the yellow fever vaccination card, but it was marked as “Contraindicated.” Therefore no shot. Regent had no problem accepting this.

We are going on the Mariner up the Amazon this November which also requires the yellow fever shot. We had to get a new card this year as the contraindicated card is issued just for the period of the current cruise. No problem and again Regent has acknowledge that this is acceptable.

Hope that helps.

Peter

We were on the cruise from Dubai to Cape Town last Nov/December and Regent informed us we would need yellow fever shots, but my husband who has a kidney complaint could not have it, so the doctor just gave us a letter stating why he was exempt and the letter was never even asked.

Thanks to all for your responses. We went to our local hospital's travel clinic today and got a waiver letter with the yellow fever vaccine provider seal but the letter is not on the yellow fever WHO form. The letter was signed by the MD Medical Director So hopefully all the bases are covered.

In and out or the clinic in 10 minutes, cost $10 each. Thanks again and safe travels to everyone. Lynsy

Per CDC, Yellow fever is not required for the itinerary of the Navigator Cape Town to Cape Town cruise starting next week. We called Regents and the staff was inflexible. They claim their port agent has the ultimate word on this. CDC agrees with us that unnecessary vaccines are more harmful than beneficial. Oh well, we got letters from our doctors.

Per CDC, Yellow fever is not required for the itinerary of the Navigator Cape Town to Cape Town cruise starting next week. We called Regents and the staff was inflexible. They claim their port agent has the ultimate word on this. CDC agrees with us that unnecessary vaccines are more harmful than beneficial. Oh well, we got letters from our doctors.

We're on this same cruise (Cape Town to Cape Town.) We leave for SA on Saturday, starting with a pre-cruise safari. We went round-and-round with this yellow fever shot, first having gotten the waiver and then reconsidering, and going back for the shot. We did all this through our county health department. It's been a few weeks now with no side effects (knocking on wood.) For us, we just didn't want to take any chances as to Regent's (or the port agent's) reaction to the waiver. Thankfully, we didn't have any reactions to the shot. :)

I just took a look at the itinerary for this cruise and think that the reason that Regent might require the Yellow Fever vaccination is because Richard's Bay has previously required proof of the vaccination when the ship has been in port. In 2009, we were on a Regent cruise and this is what I wrote:

"To leave the ship, we had to get both our passport and yellow fever certificate. All passengers had to show them to the officials to disembark. Passengers who did not have the yellow fever certificate or waiver were not allowed off the ship.

The ship was berthed in a secure area. Police manned the gate on one side and access to the dock was blocked on the other side. The man at the hospitality desk told us only vendors who had received clearance and had approved goods were allowed on the dock. Prices were higher than previous ports, but there were some unique goods and beautiful beadwork.

The highlights of Richard’s Bay are the shore excursions."

Wishing all of you a wonderful cruise. Cape Town, Richards Bay and Walvis Bay are forever etched in my memory. What fabulous ports!

We were on the cruise from Dubai to Cape Town last Nov/December and Regent informed us we would need yellow fever shots, but my husband who has a kidney complaint could not have it, so the doctor just gave us a letter stating why he was exempt and the letter was never even asked.

We were on this very same cruise too, and got the information that the shots would be needed. So we went and got them. We subsequently learned (of course, after getting the shots), that if you had previously gotten the shots they were good "for life", and not just for the ten years specified on our yellow card. So check this out if you've previously had the shots.