Agency Report/
The Federal Government has announced its plan to phase out the old version of Yellow Card and replace it with new e-Yellow Card with effect from July 1.
The information was in a statement by Mrs Boade Akinola, the Director, Media and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Health.
She stated that the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mr Abdulaziz Mashi, disclosed this on Friday in Abuja.
Yellow Card is the proof of vaccination against yellow fever, which is a requirement for international travellers from risk countries like Nigeria and as evidence that the carrier has been vaccinated against the disease.
Mashi said that the new card would contain enhanced security features that could be verified anywhere in the world by scanning the bar code or checking the card number on the yellow card portal.
According to him, the introduction of the new e-Yellow Card is to address the issue of fake cards which hitherto constituted a source of national embarrassment.
He said that with effect from July 1, the new e-Yellow Card would be the only valid documented proof of vaccination against yellow fever.
He added that yellow fever was a viral haemorrhagic fever caused by a virus transmitted by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito and may cause fatal illness but it was a vaccine-preventable disease.
The permanent secretary said World Health Organisation recommended that all international travellers, aged nine months and above and visiting Nigeria, must be vaccinated against yellow fever.
*NAN