Hundreds line up for yellow fever vaccine in Argentina

Hundreds of people lined up Wednesday in Buenos Aires to get vaccinated against yellow fever before taking their summer trips to other countries that require it.

Some of the would-be travelers even spent the night in the vicinity of the health facilities, including Federico Ballester and his family, who arrived at midday Tuesday and said - 20 hours later - that they expected their turn to get vaccinated would come “shortly.”

While waiting, he explained that normally about 50 vaccinations are given each day, although on Wednesday health personnel gave 85 and even that number was not enough to cover the “approximately 150 people” who came to the Buenos Aires Border Health headquarters, which will continue giving vaccinations in the coming days.

“Today a new queue is being formed for tomorrow and people are starting to stay and spend the day here,” Ballester told EFE.

Even so, he said that waiting for the vaccinations is “worth it” so that he and his family can enjoy their planned vacation to Thailand.

Likewise, the family of Lourdes Pacheco has been waiting since 3 pm Tuesday to get vaccinated so they can take a vacation trip to Florianopolis, Brazil.

Fabian Basta, however, requested his appointment online two months ago and barely had to wait for 15 minutes to get his vaccination.

“You have to be organized to do things in time,” Basta told EFE, obviously excited over his upcoming trip to Brazil.

On Wednesday, the Argentine government issued a statement guaranteeing the normal distribution of yellow fever vaccine and said that it had established “new vaccination centers in the City of Buenos Aires in response to the growing demand.”