By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - From Panama's Health Ministry - "*ATTENTION*. Panama's Health Ministry opened a new center where people can receive Yellow Fever vaccinations. This new office, part of the Extended Program of Immunizations of the Health Ministry, began work this week on Monday, 6 October 2008. It is located on Calle 38 and Ave. Chile, behind the old US Embassy. The center will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Cirilo Lawson, the National Director of Health, said this center is being opened in order to add to the capabilities of the other three existing centers in the metropolitan health region. The Yellow Fever vaccine is required for people who intend to travel to countries that demand it, or where a risk of infection exists."

Copyright 2008 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.

By Kathyria Caicedo for Telemetro Reporta - Milk based products containing melamine imported from China still have health authorities worried. The Department of Food Protection (DEPA) of the Ministry of Health (MINSA) conducted an inspection in several establishments to attempt to detect the presence of these products. During the operation inspectors visited Calox Panameña, Price Smart, REMISA the Nestlé Panamá company. Dr. Rubén Carcache, assistant director of the DEPA, explained that the products from these companies are not contaminated and therefore is no danger in their consumption. Also, each business was given a certification establishing that their products do not come from China.

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - This from Mike: "Four of us went today for our yellow fever shots in David. Talk about an easy process. In and out in half an hour. Usual amount of paperwork and signatures but very painless. While we were at the office, I had a call from a friend in Coronado telling me that lines were "Out the door" in Panama City. One person waited from 7.00am until closing time and never got their shot. If you are going to do it, do it now." I think the "out the door" thing will be taken care of with the implementation of the 250 slips per day thing, and that maybe the person who waited all day and never got their shot went there before the Ministry of Health (MINSA) got their act together. In any case, go early to avoid either a long wait or the possibility of getting turned away.

Copyright 2008 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - As usual, any time the Panamanian government changes the rules there's a significant degree of misunderstanding, miscommunication, and generally a degree of chaos reigns for awhile until everyone settles down into the new reality. The way the Panamanian Ministry of Health (MINSA) went about letting everyone know about these new requirements didn't help very much, either. The MINSA simply issued two notifications, one in June and another in August 2008, but those went out primarily to airlines and travel agents. MINSA left it up to private industry to get the word out, and (of course, go figure) that plan didn't work very well. In any case, now the Panamanian government has extended the implementation date for the Yellow Fever shot requirement until 1 November 2008, and everyone is asking themselves the same question - "Do I Need To Get This Shot?" In this article I will try to answer that question once and for all. (more)

La Critica - The Ministry of Health warns all nationals and foreigners who travel to or come from countries at risk of transmission of Yellow Fever, according to the classifications of the WHO, will have to be vaccinated as a requirement to exit or enter Panama. This requisite equally demands that Panamanian nationals and foreigners who travel to countries, classified by the WHO, that demand as a requirement to allow entry into their countries certification of vaccination against Yellow Fever. Exempted from this requirement are children who are less than six months old, pregnant women during the first six months of their pregnancy, and those persons who should not be vaccinated for medical reasons. WHERE TO BE VACCINATED In order to get the shot the following locations have been qualified: The International Vaccination Office of the Metropolitan Health Region, located in Los Rios of the reverted areas, on the main street, building 237; The facilities of the Extended Program of Inmunizaciones (PAI) of the Ministry of Health, located on Calle 38 and Ave Chile, behind the old US Embassy; The Office of International Marine Health located in the Cristóbal port in the province of Colón; The Office of the Regional Coordination of Epidemiology, in the district of David. TIME BEFORE TRAVELING The vaccine against Yellow Fever must be applied at least 10 days prior to the programmed date of exit from the country and it confers an immunity for 10 years.

On Fri, 10/3/08, Panama, ACS wrote: From: Panama, ACS Subject: PANAMA-TRAVELERS MUST BE VACCINATED AGAINST YELLOW FEVER To: Date: Friday, October 3, 2008, 2:49 PM UNOFFICIAL TRANSLATION - TRAVELERS MUST BE VACCINATED AGAINST YELLOW FEVER September 30, 2008 - The Ministry of Health reminds Panamanian and foreign citizens that there are three places equipped and authorized for vaccination against yellow fever in the Republic of Panama, where an international vaccination card will also be provided. The centers are: the international vaccination office of Metropolitan Health Region, located at Los Ríos (reverted area), main street, on the side of the Institutional Protection System, building 237; office of International Maritime Health in the port of Cristóbal, Colón province; and the office for Regional Epidemiology Coordination in the district of David, Chiriquí province. (more)

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By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - The government of Panama is going to begin to require that passengers traveling either to or from one of the 42 countries listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as being areas were Yellow Fever is being transmitted have a valid and current Yellow Fever vaccination effective on 1 November 2008. To make things perfectly clear, this does not include passengers traveling either to or from the United States or Canada. If you're coming into Panama from the US and flying straight in with no stops or layovers, then you do not need the shot. You might want to get one anyway just to protect your own health, but there has not been a case of Yellow Fever reported in Panama since 1974. This new more stringent set of requirements is a response on the part of Panama to attempt to prevent the return of Yellow Fever to the country from other areas of the world where it is more prevalent. (more)

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - This was just posted to the Americans in Panama Yahoo! email discussion group: "Yesterday, my Colombian girlfriend flew from Medellin to Panama, as she has done many times before. But this time, and for the first time, the COPA ticket agent in Medellin asked for her yellow fever vaccination card before even asking for her passport. Fortunately, she had her card. But what if she did not? Would COPA let her on the plane if she insisted on going? She already bought her ticket weeks before. Is COPA the enforcement agency? When we went through the airport immigration in panama, there was no mention of the vaccination card." According to the notification from the Panamanian Ministry of Health, they intend to make the airlines the "de facto" enforcer of this new policy, because if COPA or any other airlines allows a traveler to arrive in Panama who does not have the proper vaccinations, then the government of Panama will no allow that person to enter the country, and they will make the airline return that passenger to the point of origin. Also, according to a memo from the Panamanian Foreign Ministry, they have extended the implementation date to 1 November 2008 (from the original 1 October 2008) in order to give people more time to get their acts together. It appears that COPA is just starting now. I imagine that if your girlfriend did not have her shot, they would have informed her of the new requirement but let her travel. That might not be the case after 1 November, however.

Copyright 2008 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - I received an invitation from Mike Buchan, the owner of the new Driftaway Flotation Center in Panama City, to experience their sensory deprivation tanks. While in the military I had spent a considerable amount of time in California (a.k.a. the "Left" Coast), and back then there was a lot of interest in all kinds of alternative medicines, herbal treatments, and non traditional approaches to health care. I remember hearing about and reading about sensory deprivation flotation tanks back then but until this week I have never had the pleasure of actually experiencing it myself. So, when Mike called I took him up on the offer almost immediately - I was looking forward to checking it out. (more)

By Mona Sutherland for Panama-Guide.com - Hi Don, This is Mona Sutherland...So, I thought you would be interested to hear my experience in Corozal getting my Yellow Fever vaccination. I arrived at 7 a.m. and there was already approx. 100 people plus, of which many had arrived at 5 - 5:30 a.m. They were, obviously, unorganized. A woman started handing out tickets with numbers, and my friend and I received 151 and 172, so we said, "Hey, what is this." She said, oh, I didn't notice I was passing them to people out of order (disculpe, disculpe) ... Hmmmm, it became obvious that people were slipping some bills to get the lower numbered tickets. So, after waiting over an hour to pay, you sit around for another hour or to to get the shot. There are limited facilities, including bathrooms, food, beverages, so go with something to do and something to snack on. (more)