yellow fever vaccine at a glance
Medicine class
Live attenuated viral vaccine.
Administration
Given by injection by a trained healthcare professional. It must not be injected into a blood vessel.
Availability
Vaccination and certification are provided through registered yellow fever vaccination centres.
Pre-vaccination assessment
The clinician checks the itinerary, immune status, allergies, age, thymus history, pregnancy and breastfeeding.
What is yellow fever vaccine used for?
Used for active immunisation against yellow fever in people who:
Travel to, pass through or live in an area with current or periodic yellow fever transmission.
Travel to a country requiring an International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis.
Handle potentially infectious material, including relevant laboratory personnel.
How does yellow fever vaccine work?
The weakened 17D-204 virus activates virus-specific B cells, T cells and neutralising antibodies that can recognise yellow fever virus during later exposure.
How to take yellow fever vaccine
This vaccine is not self-administered. A trained professional reconstitutes the powder with its supplied solvent and gives it by subcutaneous injection, or intramuscular injection where appropriate. People with bleeding disorders or anticoagulant treatment should generally receive it subcutaneously. It must never be injected into a blood vessel.
Tell the centre about allergies to eggs, chicken proteins or latex.
Provide a full medicines list, especially steroids, biological therapies, chemotherapy or other immunosuppressants.
Mention previous yellow fever vaccination or severe vaccine reactions, thymus disease or removal, HIV, pregnancy, breastfeeding and bleeding disorders.
yellow fever vaccine side effects
Common or expected effects
- Headache, tiredness or weakness, and muscle pain.
- Injection-site pain, tenderness, redness, swelling or a small bruise.
- Fever, nausea, rash or joint pain.
- In young children: irritability, crying, reduced appetite, drowsiness or vomiting.
Get urgent medical advice
- Severe allergic reaction, including angioedema or anaphylaxis.
- Very rare neurological disease causing high fever, confusion, fits, stiff neck, altered behaviour, weakness or loss of sensation.
- Very rare viscerotropic disease resembling severe yellow fever, potentially involving jaundice and liver, kidney or respiratory failure.
yellow fever vaccine in pregnancy
As this is a live attenuated vaccine, it is generally avoided during pregnancy. It may be considered after specialist assessment when exposure risk is significant and unavoidable.
yellow fever vaccine while breastfeeding
It is generally avoided during breastfeeding because vaccine virus has rarely been transmitted through breast milk and caused neurological illness in infants. If vaccination is essential, specialist advice is required; the product information recommends temporarily interrupting breastfeeding afterward.
yellow fever vaccine interactions
Give the vaccination centre a complete medicines and vaccination history.
Immunosuppressive medicines, including high-dose systemic corticosteroids, biological therapies and cytotoxic chemotherapy
Vaccination is contraindicated while clinically immunosuppressed because the live vaccine virus may replicate excessively. Obtain specialist advice if immune status is uncertain.
Radiotherapy
Vaccination is contraindicated when treatment causes immunosuppression and should be deferred until immune recovery is assessed.
Other injectable vaccines
They must not be mixed in the same syringe and should be injected at separate sites when given at the same visit.
Common questions about yellow fever vaccine
Answers are fully visible for fast scanning and source review.
Is yellow fever vaccine a live vaccine?
Yes. It contains a weakened yellow fever virus strain that stimulates antibody and cellular immune responses.
Where can I get it?
Registered yellow fever vaccination centres provide vaccination and recognised certificates.
Who should not have it?
Sources
These sources were used to prepare and review this medicine page.
Prepared and reviewed by the iatroX editorial team.