Giving people a fraction of a yellow fever vaccine is effective and could help vaccinate millions more people during emergencies, according to results of a recent study led by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontiéres' (MSF) research arm Epicentre, published in The Lancet. These clinical trial results, which found that giving a person one-fifth of the standard yellow fever vaccine dose is effective and safe, will make it easier for governments and international organizations to prevent people from getting sick from yellow fever during outbreaks in times of vaccine shortage.
"When big yellow fever epidemics hit, countries and MSF need to access vaccines urgently," said Myriam Henkens, MSF international medical coordinator. "Vaccination is the most important measure for preventing the disease. This study means that treatment providers can now rest assured that giving people smaller doses of any of the World Health Organization (WHO) prequalified yellow fever vaccines will protect the person in front of them while helping to keep even more people safe."
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