Chickenpox (varicella) vaccination 

  • Overview

Introduction 

The chickenpox (varicella) vaccine provides protection against the varicella zoster virus that causes chickenpox.

The chickenpox vaccine is not part of the routine childhood vaccination schedule. The vaccine is currently only offered to people who are particularly vulnerable to chickenpox.

The vaccine does not contain thiomersal (mercury).

Groups at risk from chickenpox

Chickenpox is a common childhood infection. In most cases the symptoms are mild and complications are rare. Almost all children develop immunity to chickenpox after infection, so only catch it once. The disease can be more severe in adults.

Certain groups of people are at greater risk of serious complications from chickenpox. These include people who have weakened immune systems through illness, such as HIV, or through treatment, such as chemotherapy.

Chickenpox can be very serious for an unborn baby when a pregnant woman catches the infection. It can cause a range of serious birth defects as well as severe disease in the baby when it is born. 

How the vaccine works

The chickenpox vaccine contains a small amount of the live weakened varicella zoster virus. 

The vaccine causes your immune system to produce antibodies that will help protect against chickenpox.

The vaccine is recommended for individuals who are likely to come into contact with people in the 'at-risk' groups. This is to reduce the risk of the individuals spreading the infection to those at risk (read When it is needed for more information).

For example, if you were having chemotherapy treatment, it would be recommended that non-immune children be given the chickenpox vaccination. Or if you were about to start work in a radiotherapy department and you had no previous history of chickenpox, the vaccine would be recommended.

How effective is the vaccine?

It has been shown that 9 out of 10 children vaccinated with a single dose will develop immunity against chickenpox. A two-dose schedule is now recommended for all, as it gives a better immune response.

Three-quarters of teenagers and adults who are vaccinated will develop immunity against chickenpox.




Last reviewed: 19/04/2012

Next review due: 19/04/2014

Comments

4 Comments

Our rules

Comments are personal views. Any information they give has not been checked and may not be accurate.

Louhayter said on 28 April 2012

I understand that the NHS does not give this vaccination out routinely but would it be available on request .... Or could we pay for the vaccine in the future ? My youngest has just suffered a horrible bout of chicken pox. It does seem ridiculous that in comparable economic countries children do not have to go through this ..... It scares children and they don't understand. Working parents have to take time off. Children miss out on school. And there are scary off shoots of the disease. We are putting pregnant mum's unborn children at risk. While the government thinks about this for the next 10 years perhaps a choice could be given to parents and the vaccine offered .... Even if we have to pay for it for the moment.

Report this content as offensive or unsuitable

Ruth8 said on 13 April 2011

@Deebles,

According to this article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8557236.stm, the NHS also cite cost as a reason.

But even if "External Boosting" theory was supported by compelling evidence from countries who use the chickenpox vaccine, it's unnecessary as there is a shingles vaccine now available and this is how we should protect the elderly. The young should not be used as vaccines!

Your 'argument' of waiting for time to pass makes no sense because if you don't vaccinate now in order to theoretically protect adults against shingles, then you'll have this generation of children becoming the next generation of adults who will also need the 'external boosting' from future generations of un-vaccinated children. It would never end.

The obvious solution is to vaccinate against both shingles for the elderly and chicken pox for the young. Eventually you shouldn't even need to vaccinate against shingles as future generations shouldn't get it (as you cannot get it unless you have had chicken pox -- varicella vaccine does NOT produce the dormant virus that leads to shingles).

Finally, you will read in the article that Professor Adam Finn, consultant in paediatric infectious diseases at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, believes the true reason for the NHS not introducing this vaccine is "reluctance of the authorities to introduce a brand new injection into the childhood immunisation schedule" in the wake of the MMR debacle.

He says: "The fact is parents who should be able to protect their child against chickenpox, an entirely preventable, unpleasant disease, are being held hostage by a small minority.

"Chickenpox is a disease which stops children going to school, means parents have to take time off work, and for children who are already sick can be very severe. And for a small cost we could be rid of it."

Report this content as offensive or unsuitable

Deebles said on 06 January 2011

@User512124,

The decision of the UK not to routinely vaccinate children is actually based on the risk that preventing the circulation of wild virus will, rather counterintuitively, increase the risk of shingles among older people.

Basically, there's a risk that by vaccinating, you'll prevent re-immunising people in older age groups by exposure to wild virus, and thus actually put them at greater risk of shingles rather than the reverse. At least, until enough time has passed that the youth among whom you've prevented infection have become the elderly.

See this editorial for more: http://www.bmj.com/content/337/bmj.a1164.full

Or, alternatively, this article for the US view: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5705a1.htm

Report this content as offensive or unsuitable

User512124 said on 24 December 2010

Yes, the vaccine for this disease is available in nearly all non-3rd world countries to avoid what can be a horrific illness, and an obvious very painful one.

Apparently the vaccine which is given routinely, as part of the normal vaccination program, in developed countries like Germany (2004), Australia, Canada, and the U.S. (1995) but not given in less developed countries due to cost!? That includes the U.K. **How disgusting**. The vaccine can be bought and administered for just £120, which includes the cost of the consultation.

I am Australian and I realised it would not be included as part of my three children's vaccination plan. When I asked if it was available at my local surgery, they said they would investigate and call me, but they do not do it, and they never called. After a search on the internet I found at least one Doctor that does not have their head in the sand.

Apparently part of the Herpes virus group, that once you get it is with you for life, and can re-emerge as shingles as an adult. It hides in the spinal tissue, waiting for the opportunity when you are run down. Shingles (adult form of the disease) is horrific with unbearable pain, as I have discovered in speaking to other parents.

The U.K really has to sort this out. In my opinion this is not a cost issue but just complacency, the view that this is a mild childhood illness. In most cases it is, but for one little 2 year old boy at Christmas time who suffered horribly with nearly all his body covered with very painful blisters and a very high temperature; it all could have been simply avoided. It also puts people who haven't been vaccinated at risk including grand-parents, pregnant mothers (and their unborn child) and other people that have issues with their immune system. This isn't fair to them either.

Report this content as offensive or unsuitable

  • Link to Directgov – public services all in one place
  • The Information Standard - Certified member