SanDiego1K

Very important advice. In my quest to find where to get the vaccine, I learned that the CDC has now determined that once in a lifetime is sufficient. The rules were changed in 2016 to no longer require a booster shot after 10 years. Fortunately, I have my very battered vaccination card and was reminded I had the vaccine in 2003.

B747-437B

While this may be the CDC and the WHO position, multiple African countries (Malawi and Uganda to name two that I have first hand experience with) still require a vaccination certificate issued within the last 10 years to be considered valid. You will need to either get a booster shot, or else get the certificate reissued to show a further 10 year validity.

SanDiego1K

That's unfortunate. The current WHO position is found here.

Thus, from 11 July 2016 the certificate of vaccination against yellow fever is valid for the life of the person vaccinated. This lifetime validity applies automatically to all existing and new certificates, beginning 10 days after the date of vaccination. Accordingly, as of 11 July 2016, revaccination or a booster dose of yellow fever vaccine will not be required for international travellers as a condition of entry into a State Party, regardless of the date that their international certificate of vaccination was initially issued.

But making your point:

NOTE: Despite the recent changes to the IHR regarding yellow fever vaccine boosters, it is uncertain when and if all countries with current yellow fever vaccination entry requirements will adopt this change. Even if countries do modify their official policies to extend the validity period of the ICVP from 10 years to the lifetime of the vaccinee, there is no guarantee that all national border officials will be aware of such policy change or be able to enforce it appropriately. CDC obtains information yearly from WHO about official country entry requirements. WHO likely will not be asking countries about yellow fever vaccine booster entry requirements in the yearly questionnaires, because it will be assumed that countries are complying with the amended IHR. This could leave a gap in the foreseeable future in accurate published information about entry requirements for yellow fever vaccine boosters for certain countries. Past experience has demonstrated that information given by consulates and embassies about vaccination requirements is often not accurate. Therefore, providers and travelers should not rely solely on such information when determining current yellow fever vaccination entry requirements for specific destinations. With the caveats described above, readers should refer to the online version of this book (www.cdc.gov/yellowbook) and the CDC Travelers’ Health website (www.cdc.gov/travel) for any reported updates to country entry requirements since publication of this edition.

In Uganda's case, the one that I looked up, it requires yellow fever vaccination if coming from an area at risk. The US is not. Similarly, the places I am heading in 2018 recommend but do not require yellow fever vaccination, so my mind is at rest about not getting a booster shot.

Maykita

B747-437B

I have flown into Uganda about 30 times since 2015 (usually from Dubai which is also a non-risk area) and have had my yellow fever vaccination paperwork checked every single time. Uganda has instituted a mandatory requirement for Yellow Fever vaccination since the local outbreak there in 2015, and there is a specific port health checkpoint set up before you even reach the immigration counters to check this paperwork in particular. They don't care where you are coming from - if you don't have the paperwork you can choose between being vaccinated on the spot for $40, or being hauled off to quarantine and deported. The e-Visa team at Uganda Immigration also insist on the certificate being less than 10 years old - I have a colleague whose visa application was rejected for this reason and he had to get a booster done in Dubai before they would approve it. However, the airport Port Health folks are less vigilant about the dates in my experience (they just check the name on the cert matches the passport and wave you through).

Happy

You mistrust CDC on this type of info which only tells you the shot is considered effective for life. Unfortunately CDC is not the organization that determine other countries requirements nor set the immigration laws of other countries.

ALWAYS check the country's own government website to see what their requirements are instead of trusting our own government's website.
Case in point, US State Dept website did not update its site about how the South Africa government would require True Birth Certificate that has both the birth parents names on it to bring a minor inside the country, until weeks after the law was in effect and strictly enforced. Many parents were caught totally off guard and incurred money and hassle to get the paperwork from home when they were already on their trip.

If your itinerary involves Uganda, you better hunt for the booster shot else you would need to take the shot at the entry point. Do you want to risk that? I would hunt for the booster here so if there is any reaction/complication after the shot I can deal with it while at home.

SanDiego1K

I'm not going to Uganda - but thanks for the information for those who are.

paulwuk