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Yellow fever vaccine can cause minor discomfort such as soreness, swelling, and fever, but severe symptoms such as breathing difficulty, seizures, and irregular heartbeat require immediate medical attention. People with allergies to chicken, egg, or gelatin are at risk of serious side effects. Pregnant women, those with weak immune systems, and babies younger than nine months are also advised against the vaccine.
Yellow fever injections have similar side effects to other vaccines. Most people with side effects experience only minor discomfort: the injection site may become sore, bruised, and swollen; there may also be a slight fever accompanied by pain and chills. The few people who have severe symptoms may experience difficulty breathing, behavior changes, seizures, high fever, irregular heartbeat, hives, and other symptoms that require immediate medical attention. Side effects from yellow fever injections usually occur within the first hour after the injection, but can also develop within 30 days of the injection.
Doctors look more closely for side effects in people who have never had yellow fever injections. Without a history of vaccination, it’s impossible to know how a person will react. Those who have had the shot and experienced no side effects are extremely unlikely to develop side effects with recurring shots.
Many people experience only mild effects following a yellow fever shot, such as pain or stiffness at the injection site. A person who is in mild pain may also experience redness, bruising, and possibly swelling at the injection site. A mild, short-lived fever may also occur. For such symptoms, medical treatment is often unnecessary; symptoms should resolve over time. If desired, they can take over-the-counter medications to relieve fever and pain.
Those experiencing severe symptoms should seek medical treatment immediately. Serious side effects of yellow fever injections are usually due to allergic reactions and can be life threatening. Typically, those who suffer from such reactions are allergic to chicken, egg or gelatin, all common ingredients in vaccinations.
Those with such allergies are encouraged to avoid traveling to parts of Africa and South America where the yellow fever virus is common. If a person with egg or chicken allergies must travel to such regions, a doctor may still recommend a yellow fever vaccine if contracting the virus is thought to be more life-threatening than an allergic reaction from the injection. Doctors may provide the vaccination in smaller doses in hopes of inducing a less severe allergic reaction.
Certain demographics are more likely to experience serious side effects from yellow fever injections than others. As mentioned, those with poultry allergies are at risk. Pregnant women are also advised not to receive the vaccine, as it may harm unborn babies. Those with weak immune systems and who have experienced organ failure due to a serious illness may also be advised against the injection. Babies younger than nine months, and especially those younger than six months, are considered particularly vulnerable to negative side effects.
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