By LARA PICKFORD-GORDON Wednesday, January 28 2009

FAST on the heel of last year’s dengue scare, members of the public are rushing to health centres for yellow fever vaccinations. However, some centres were not prepared for the influx and do not have any yellow fever in stock while others with supply are prioritising who would receive.

A caller from Santa Cruz contacted Newsday complaining that the Santa Cruz Health Centre was only vaccinating babies and she was referred to the San Juan Health Centre. However when she contacted this facility, she was told by a worker they did not know when it would get the vaccine.

Checks with Santa Cruz revealed that the facility was giving priority to babies and adults were advised to keep calling to find out when they could get vaccinated. The San Juan facility did not have stock at present and when supply was received it would not be for “any and everyone”.

The St Helena Health Centre did not have vaccines yesterday and Cunupia ran out and was waiting an additional supply. An official of the Eastern RHA said it had no supply problems and had an ongoing programme to ensure hunters were inoculated.

Newsday heard there was a rush for vaccines from the Public Health Department of the Port-of-Spain Corporation. Checks by Newsday found that health centres have specific days for vaccination.

In the Senate yesterday Health Minister Jerry Narace said as of Monday there were 20,000 doses available throughout health facilities. The Ministry has ordered 110,000 doses for the first quarter of this year and will receive 60,000 within the first week of next month.

“The total amount of yellow fever vaccine requested for 2009 is 190,000 doses and an adequate supply of syringes is also available”.

Narace said yellow fever vaccines were available “every day at all of our health centres. He said the Ministry had contacted the Forestry Division, the Ministry of Agriculture to recommend that all hunters receiving a licence get vaccinated.