How Much Does Yellow Fever Vaccine Cost?

Updated on August 27, 2026 | Written by Alec Pow
This article was researched using 12 sources. See our methodology and corrections policy.

The yellow fever vaccine currently costs about $200 to $340+ at many U.S. providers when paying out of pocket, although the final bill depends on the vaccination center and whether consultation or administration fees are charged separately. Current published examples include $200 at the University of Pittsburgh, $243 at UW-Madison, $268.53 through Miami-Dade County, and $338 at the University of Oregon after its first-vaccine administration fee.

A practical planning budget is about $250 to $300 for one yellow fever vaccination visit. That figure can be higher when a travel consultation is mandatory or when other travel vaccines and medications are recommended at the same appointment.

Yellow fever vaccine is different from most routine vaccines because U.S. travelers who need an official International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis must receive it through a designated yellow fever vaccination center. The health recommendation and the entry-document requirement are also two different questions. Your itinerary determines whether vaccination is medically recommended, legally required for entry, both, or neither.

Article Highlights

• Current published U.S. yellow fever vaccine charges commonly fall around $200-$340+ (at $30 per hour, earning that amount would take about 0.8 to 1.4 full-time workdays, before taxes).
• Five current provider examples produce an average published charge of about $260.
• The University of Oregon lists a $295 vaccine price plus a $43 first-vaccine administration fee, for $338.
• UNC currently lists the vaccine at $225 plus a required $25 yellow fever assessment, for $250.
• A primary yellow fever vaccination certificate becomes valid 10 days after vaccination.
• The international yellow fever certificate is valid for the lifetime of the vaccinated person.
• One dose is adequate for most travelers, but CDC recommends or considers additional doses for certain people and higher-risk travel situations.

How Much Does the Yellow Fever Vaccine Cost?

Current provider example	Published vaccine price	Known additional fee	Published known total
University of Pittsburgh Student Health	$200 (about 6.7 hours of work at $30 per hour)	None listed with vaccine price	$200 published vaccine charge
UNC Campus Health	$225	$25 yellow fever assessment	$250
UW-Madison University Health Services	$243	Other visit billing may depend on patient	$243+
Miami-Dade County Health Department	$268.53	Check directly for applicable visit charges	$268.53+
University of Oregon Health Services	$295	$43 first-vaccine administration	$338
New York Center for Travel and Tropical Medicine	$295	Check for consultation charges	$295+

The University of Pittsburgh currently lists yellow fever vaccine at $200 for eligible students.

UNC’s current yellow fever questionnaire lists the vaccine at $225 plus a $25 assessment charge, making the known cost $250.

UW-Madison currently publishes a $243 YF-VAX price, while the Miami-Dade County Health Department lists yellow fever vaccination at $268.53.

At the higher end of these examples, the University of Oregon charges $295 for yellow fever vaccine plus a $43 administration fee for the first vaccine given during the visit. The known total is therefore $338.

A private-provider example is the New York Center for Travel and Tropical Medicine, which currently lists YF-VAX at $295 per dose.

University clinics can restrict services to eligible students, faculty, staff, or affiliated patients, so these prices are useful market benchmarks rather than a guarantee that every traveler can book at every listed provider.

What You’re Actually Buying

Yellow fever vaccine is a live attenuated viral vaccine used to protect travelers and residents from yellow fever, a mosquito-borne viral infection found in parts of Africa and South America. YF-VAX is the yellow fever vaccine licensed in the United States. For most eligible travelers, vaccination involves one 0.5 mL injection.

When the vaccine is given at an authorized U.S. yellow fever center, the provider can also complete and validate the International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis, commonly called the yellow card. That certificate may be necessary for entry into certain countries. Not every traveler to Africa or South America needs yellow fever vaccination, and some people have medical contraindications or precautions that require an individualized risk assessment before vaccination.

The $260 Current Price Benchmark

Take five published charges with known vaccine pricing and required fees where clearly stated:

• Pittsburgh: $200 (about 6.7 hours of work at $30 per hour)
• UNC: $250
• UW-Madison: $243
• Miami-Dade: $268.53
• Oregon: $338

Add them:

$200 + $250 + $243 + $268.53 + $338 = $1,299.53.

Divide by five:

$1,299.53 ÷ 5 = $259.91.

That makes about $260 a useful current benchmark from these providers. The median of the five examples is $250.

The gap between the lowest and highest examples is:

$338 – $200 = $138.

The Oregon example is therefore about 69% more expensive than the Pittsburgh vaccine charge. That difference is large enough to justify comparing authorized centers before making an appointment, particularly for an uninsured traveler.

The Hidden Consultation Fee

A clinic’s advertised vaccine price is not necessarily its all-in appointment price.

The University of Oregon provides a clear example:

$295 vaccine + $43 administration = $338.

The administration charge adds about:

$43 ÷ $295 = 14.6%

to the vaccine price.

UNC uses a different structure:

$225 vaccine + $25 assessment = $250.

Before scheduling, ask the provider whether its quote includes:

• The vaccine dose
• Travel-health consultation or assessment
• Vaccine administration
• International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis completion
• Any required follow-up

Other vaccines, malaria-prevention medication, prescriptions, and travel-health services can be billed separately. CDC’s 2026 Yellow Book notes that a complete pre-travel consultation involving several vaccines for a complex itinerary can cost far more than the yellow fever vaccine alone.

Why You Need an Authorized Center

Yellow fever vaccination for international documentation is not simply a matter of finding any pharmacy with YF-VAX in stock.

CDC says U.S. yellow fever vaccination must be performed at a designated center that has an official uniform stamp used to validate the yellow card. Travelers can use the CDC yellow fever vaccination-center directory to find authorized providers.

The completed International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis includes the vaccination date, vaccine information, clinician signature, and official stamp. Without a properly validated certificate, the traveler may not have acceptable proof for a country that requires vaccination documentation.

This narrower provider network is one reason yellow fever pricing is different from a flu shot or another routine vaccine available at thousands of retail pharmacies.

When Do You Actually Need the Vaccine?

Yellow fever vaccination is not automatically recommended simply because someone is traveling to Africa or South America.

The CDC Yellow Book maintains country-specific yellow fever recommendations and entry requirements. Risk can apply to an entire country or only to particular regions.

There are two separate questions:

Medical recommendation: Is there enough yellow fever transmission risk at the traveler’s destination to justify vaccination?

Entry requirement: Does the destination require proof of vaccination based on the traveler’s origin, itinerary, or transit through another country?

A traveler can encounter an entry requirement because of where they have recently traveled even when their final destination presents little or no yellow fever exposure risk.

Requirements can change, so travelers should check the current CDC destination guidance and the rules of the destination country close to departure.

The 10-Day Yellow Card Rule

The most important timing number is 10 days.

According to the CDC’s current International Certificate guidance, a certificate for a primary yellow fever vaccination becomes valid 10 days after the vaccine is administered.

This means someone vaccinated only three days before arriving at a country that requires a valid certificate could still have a documentation problem even though the shot has already been given.

Once valid, the certificate remains valid for the vaccinated person’s lifetime. The World Health Organization’s International Health Regulations establish lifetime certificate validity rather than the old 10-year expiration rule.

There is no medical reason to wait until exactly 10-30 days before travel. Receiving an indicated vaccine earlier is fine. Planning the travel-health appointment several weeks ahead also leaves time to address other vaccines, prescriptions, or medical questions.

Does Insurance Cover Yellow Fever Vaccine?

Insurance coverage varies substantially.

The CDC’s 2026 Yellow Book notes that many insurance plans provide no or limited coverage for pre-travel vaccines and preventive medications. Travelers therefore commonly pay some or all of these expenses themselves.

Do not assume the yellow fever vaccine will be treated the same way as a routine preventive vaccine. Ask the insurer specifically about:

• Yellow fever vaccine
• Travel-medicine consultation
• Vaccine administration
• Whether the provider must be in-network
• Whether payment is required upfront with later reimbursement

An HSA or FSA may be usable for eligible medical expenses, subject to the account’s rules.

Travelers comparing vaccination expenses may also want to review the cost of the rabies vaccine for humans when their itinerary creates animal-exposure risk, or the newer chikungunya vaccine cost for destinations where that vaccine may be considered. The shingles vaccine cost is a different type of adult vaccination expense and should not be assumed to follow the same insurance rules as travel vaccines.

Who Should Not Receive Yellow Fever Vaccine?

This question requires more precision than simply saying children, pregnant people, or adults over 60 should not be vaccinated.

The CDC Yellow Book distinguishes contraindications from precautions.

Contraindications include:

• Age younger than 6 months
• Severe allergy to a vaccine component
• Symptomatic HIV infection or severe immunosuppression
• Certain primary immunodeficiencies
• Immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory therapy
• Certain malignant conditions
• Thymus disorders associated with abnormal immune function
• Organ transplantation

Precautions include:

• Age 6-8 months
• Age 60 or older
• Pregnancy
• Breastfeeding
• Certain cases of asymptomatic HIV infection

A precaution is not the same as an automatic prohibition. The clinician weighs the traveler’s exposure risk against the risk of a serious vaccine reaction. When vaccination is medically inappropriate but proof is required for travel, an authorized yellow fever provider may be able to issue a medical waiver.

Does One Dose Last for Life?

For most people, one dose provides long-lasting protection, and the international vaccination certificate is valid for life.

The important nuance is that medical booster recommendations and certificate validity are not exactly the same thing.

CDC says an additional dose is recommended for certain people who were pregnant when they received their first dose, some hematopoietic stem-cell transplant recipients, and people living with HIV who remain at risk. A booster can also be considered for some travelers whose last dose was at least 10 years ago and who will have prolonged or higher-risk exposure, including travel during an outbreak.

A country cannot require a yellow fever booster merely because the traveler’s valid certificate is more than 10 years old. WHO’s international certificate rules recognize the original vaccination for life.

Three Yellow Fever Vaccine Budgets

Low published university example: The University of Pittsburgh lists a yellow fever vaccine charge of $200. Eligibility restrictions apply because this is a university health service.

Vaccine plus required assessment: UNC currently lists $225 for the vaccine and a $25 assessment, producing a known total of $250.

Higher current example: The University of Oregon lists $295 for the vaccine plus a $43 first-vaccine administration charge, for $338.

Makes sense if: CDC recommends vaccination for the itinerary, the destination requires valid yellow fever documentation, or both.

Does not make sense if: the traveler is seeking vaccination only because they assume every trip to Africa or South America requires it, or if a medical contraindication makes vaccination riskier than the itinerary warrants. The decision should be based on current destination guidance and an appropriate medical assessment.

What We Verified

• Confirmed: Current published provider examples run from $200 to at least $338 with known required administration or assessment charges included where specified.
• Calculated: Five current published examples average approximately $259.91, with a median of $250.
• Verified: Yellow fever vaccination for international documentation must be given at a designated U.S. vaccination center.
• Confirmed: The primary vaccination certificate becomes valid 10 days after vaccination and remains valid for life.
• Verified: Age under 6 months is a contraindication, while ages 6-8 months and 60+, pregnancy, and breastfeeding are precautions rather than universal prohibitions.
• Confirmed: A booster is not recommended for most people, although additional doses are recommended or considered in certain circumstances.

Answers to Common Questions

How much does the yellow fever vaccine cost without insurance?
Current published U.S. examples commonly fall around $200-$340+. A practical budget is approximately $250-$300, but consultation and administration charges can increase the total.

What is the average yellow fever vaccine price?
Five current provider examples examined for this article average about $259.91. Their median published charge is $250.

Does insurance pay for yellow fever vaccine?
Sometimes, but many health plans provide limited or no coverage for pre-travel vaccines. Verify coverage for both the vaccine and the travel-health appointment before scheduling.

Can I get yellow fever vaccine at any pharmacy?
Not if you need the internationally recognized yellow fever certificate. In the United States, vaccination and certificate validation must be handled through a designated yellow fever vaccination center.

How long before travel should I get the yellow fever vaccine?
For a first dose, the International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis does not become valid until 10 days after vaccination. Scheduling a travel-health appointment several weeks before departure gives more time to address the rest of the itinerary.

Is the yellow fever vaccine good for life?
One dose is adequate for most people, and the international yellow fever certificate is valid for life. CDC still recommends or considers additional doses for certain travelers and medical circumstances.

Can a country require a yellow fever booster after 10 years?
No. Under the International Health Regulations, a properly completed yellow fever vaccination certificate is valid for the lifetime of the vaccinated person and countries cannot require revaccination solely because more than 10 years have passed.

Can people over 60 receive yellow fever vaccine?
Age 60 or older is a precaution, not an automatic contraindication. A healthcare professional should compare the person’s risk of yellow fever exposure with the increased risk of serious vaccine adverse events.

Can pregnant travelers receive yellow fever vaccine?
Pregnancy is a precaution rather than an absolute contraindication. When travel cannot be avoided, a clinician should evaluate the risks of vaccination against the risk of yellow fever exposure and the traveler’s entry requirements.

Who absolutely should not receive yellow fever vaccine?
CDC lists several contraindications, including infants younger than 6 months, certain severe immune-system conditions, some immunosuppressive treatments, qualifying thymus disorders, transplantation, and serious hypersensitivity to vaccine components. Individual eligibility should be assessed by a qualified healthcare professional.

This article provides current U.S. pricing examples and general travel-health information. Yellow fever vaccination decisions should be based on the traveler’s itinerary, medical history, current CDC destination guidance, and advice from an authorized vaccination provider.