Chickenpox vaccination is recommended for some adults or children in
regular or close contact with someone who:
- has a weakened immune system
- is at risk of serious illness if they catch chickenpox
Vaccination protects the person who is at risk from catching chickenpox
through the close contact.
Other people may be vaccinated in some circumstances. There are also some groups of people who should not be given the chickenpox vaccine, such as pregnant women.
Healthcare workers
The chickenpox vaccine is recommended for healthcare workers who are not immune to chickenpox and have contact with patients.
This includes, for example:
- medical and nursing staff
- ambulance staff
- cleaners on hospital wards
- hospital catering staff
- receptionists at hospitals and in GP surgeries
Those with a definite history of chickenpox or herpes zoster can be considered protected.
Chickenpox vaccination is also offered to people working in clinical
laboratories who may be exposed to the virus through their work.
Close contacts of people who are unwell
Chickenpox vaccination is recommended for healthy adults and children aged
1-12 who are both:
- not immune to chickenpox
- in close contact with someone with a weakened immune system, who is at risk of serious illness if they catch chickenpox
For example:
- brothers and sisters of a child who has leukaemia (cancer of the white
blood cells)
- a child whose parent is having chemotherapy
Checking immunity to chickenpox
Chickenpox is so common in childhood, 90% of adults raised in the UK are immune.
However, to find out if someone is immune to chickenpox, they will need to have a blood test. The blood test checks whether they have antibodies to the chickenpox virus.
Childhood vaccinations
Chickenpox vaccination is not currently part of the routine childhood
vaccination programme.
People who are unwell
Chickenpox vaccination is not recommended for people who are seriously
unwell. If they need the vaccination, it will usually be delayed until they
recover.
Chickenpox vaccination is not recommended for people whose immune systems are weakened or not working properly. For example, someone who:
- has an immune system that has been severely suppressed due to HIV or AIDS – HIV infected individuals with no immunosuppressioncan be safely vaccinated
- is having chemotherapy
- has had an organ transplant and is using immunosuppressant medicines
Pregnancy and breastfeeding
Chickenpox vaccination is not recommended during pregnancy.
If a woman is vaccinated against chickenpox, she should not try for a baby
for three months after receiving the last dose of vaccine.
Studies have shown that the chickenpox virus does not pass through breast
milk to the baby. A woman who is breastfeeding can therefore be vaccinated
if she is in one of the groups described above.
Read the answers to more questions about vaccinations.
Further information:
