Mumbai, August 25: Around 70 travellers, mainly to South Africa, troop into the yellow fever vaccination centre at the Mumbai international airport—it conducts a daily one-hour session for the dosage—but leave without getting vaccinated. Reason: the centre is out of stock of the vaccine. Another centre, the Seaman Medical Centre at Ballard Pier, too, is short of the yellow fever vaccine.

For the last one month, both the centres—the only ones in the city authorised and recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO)—have not had stock of the vaccine and are awaiting supply from the Central Research Institute in Kasauli. “We had asked for supplies in July but haven't received it. We have been told that we will get them by September,” said a medical officer at the airport centre.

According to the WHO guidelines, anyone (except infants up to six months old) arriving by sea or air within six days of departure from an area with risk of yellow fever transmission without a certificate of vaccination, is detained in isolation for up to six days.

People travelling to African and South American countries have to be vaccinated 10 days before their travel in case they have stayed in the country for less than 10 days. They can get vaccinated in the foreign country, but as the effect of the vaccine is seen only after 10 days, the travellers are quarantined after their return.

“Even if we keep a stock of the vaccine, no one buys it from us as other doctors are not allowed to administer it. Their certificates are not recognised by government officials,” said Nimish Thakkar, owner of the Shreyas Healthcare, Ghatkopar.