Yellow fever vaccination in India - Government versus Private sector

What are the pros and cons of Yellow Fever Vaccination in Government versus Private sector in India.
Yellow Fever Vaccine is one of the last vestiges of the License Raj regime that the government of India used to prefer in the older years.
While there may have been justification for "controlling" Yellow Fever vaccination in the yesteryears when access to good quality vaccination was difficult and importing the same impossible, this is no longer the case.
Nowadays Yellow Fever vaccination at Government level is associated with lots of Corruption, poor quality vaccine and lots of wasted time.
Here are the pros & cons of the Yellow Fever vaccination in the Government versus Private sector in India
Government Centers
- PROS
1. Cheaper Vaccine
2. Government Certificate of vaccination
3. Well known - relatively easily accessible
CONS
1. Poor quality vaccine - Chinese/ Russian vaccine at lowest tender price
2. Increased range of side-effects - More fever, local swelling, pain etc.
3. Huge waste of time - Need to take appointment 1 day prior, then be punctual and hope that a VIP has not taken your turn. Also fixed days, and centers located at only 22 places in India.
4. Multi-dose Vaccine - More chances of side-effects, need a minimum number of customers to open the vial, individual vaccination cannot be given.

Private Centers
PROS
1. Faster vaccination
2. Individuals can be vaccinated at their convenience.
3. STAMARIL - A better quality, French made vaccination by Sanofi Aventis - a well known multinational vaccine manufacturer.
4. Less side-effects

CONS
1. Expensive
2. Tough to locate the clinics since not well advertised
3. Worry about proper certification - Preferable to go to a center providing the WHO Yellow Booklet with International Certificate of Vaccination

Hope this helps you decide what is the best option in your situation for taking the Yellow Fever vaccination in India.

All information provided by Dr Gaurav Gupta, MD, Charak Clinics. Stamaril, Yellow Fever Vaccine is available at Charak Clinics, Chandigarh, North India for all travelers to Endemic Countries in Africa / Central & South America with WHO certificate of vaccination valid for 10 years. For details write to us at drgaurav-at-charakclinics.com (replace -at- by @) or call at 91-172-5092585, 91-9872303775 during Office Hours.