www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I'm traveling from Colombia to CR in mid-Feb. I received a yellow fever vaccine that says valid from July 2010 to July 2020. Those are usually good for life, but knowing it's Costa Rica, I will probably need a booster at least 10 days before?

If you are over 65 I think you don't need it. Also even if you did it depends on where in Colombia you are coming from I think.

<65 and coming from Medellin

I don't have the link but a friend found all the requirements on one of the Costa Rica government websites.

Yellow Fever Vaccination
If you are traveling to Costa Rica from South America and / or sub-Saharan Africa, you will require a Yellow Fever vaccination and be prepared to show the yellow fever vaccination certificate at the airport when you enter Costa Rica from these specific areas of the world. You also shouldn’t travel to Costa Rica within the 10 day frame of receiving the vaccination.

The countries considered at risk are:

Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, French Guyana, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Guyana and Venezuela.

https://costarica.org/travel/vaccinations/

There are "exceptions". maybe you qualify for one of these?

Exceptions:

Any individual traveling to Costa Rica that has been in transit through those countries through airports, sea ports or land border posts, will be exempt from the requirement of for a yellow fever vaccination.

People who have resided in countries considered at risk, but who have resided in a non-risk country for a minimum of six days without contracting yellow fever before entering Costa Rica.

Too, People with medically certified contra-indications for the vaccination against yellow fever who carry a valid medical opinion supported approved by the health authority in the country from where they are from.

People with medically certified severe allergy to eggs.

Persons with medically certified immunosuppression disease present or in their medical history.

People with medically certified disease of the thymus present or in their medical history.

There must be a medical assessment of the pros and cons of vaccination for individuals with the following conditions: over 60 years of age, pregnancy, lactation, family history of adverse events associated with vaccination against yellow fever, hypersensitivity to gelatin and asymptomatic HIV infection, with laboratory verification of adequate immune system function.

My first thought if I was there and coming to Costa Rica, would be, is there a doctor in Colombia that would give me an exception?

For a "reasonable fee", of course...know what I mean, Vern?

_________________
Don't try to understand 'em, just rope 'em down and brand 'em...

I did this route in April this year... I am obviously over 60 and certainly my passport also may have been a factor, but no one asked me anything flying out of Bogota or into San Jose. Doesn't prove anything perhaps they just didn't bother checking, but for what it's worth...

Make a detour and spend a couple of days in Panama, Mexico or the DR, then fly into CR with a single leg ticket

I am over 60 & my doctor gave me an exemption. The yellow fever vaccine has potential side effects that are worse than the fever for older adults.

When I got my yellow fever shot I ended up in the ER a few days later with a nose bleed that would not stop. I woke up around 2 am with what I thought was a runny nose but when I grabbed a tissue and wiped my nose I noticed the blood. Turned out I had blood on my blanket and sheets as well but after a couple of hours of not being able to get it to stop I went to the ER. They took a look and found nothing to cauterize so they put this little clip on the bridge of my nose, let me sit for about 30 mins then took the clip off. The flow had slowed tremendously but was still dripping so another 30 minutes later it had stopped. I called CDC to report the side effect and they told me that the vaccine did not have that listed as a side effect. I informed them that up till that point the only time I had a bloody nose was when I got hit in the nose, would it bleed, and I had only had 3 or 4 bloody noses in my 44 years at that point. The person on the phone was very condescending and seemed bothered that I would even call. At that point I knew the CDC was a crock of shit and was not interested in the medical end but only the money it could generate. That fact was reinforced by covid and now I think of them as on the same level as the Church of Scientology. Anyway I will not be getting the booster shot for yellow fever.

Last year I did the same flight and was required to show vaccine papers before boarding my flight on Avianca in Medellin. In 2016 when I received the vaccine, I learned the hard way what happens when you haven't had the vaccine as I wasn't allowed to board a flight until 7 days after I got my vaccine in Medellin.