Experts recommend chickenpox vaccination

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has recommended a vaccine against varicella (chickenpox) should be added to the UK’s routine childhood immunisation programme.
The vaccine would be offered to all children in 2 doses, at 12 and 18 months of age.
The committee has submitted its recommendations to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), which will take a final decision on whether to implement a programme.
The JCVI has also recommended that a temporary catch-up programme for older children be included in the initial rollout. Chickenpox cases were significantly reduced during the pandemic due to social restrictions, meaning there is currently a larger pool of children than usual without immunity. The catch-up programme would offer them protection against greater risks from the illness through later childhood or as adults, when chickenpox can be more severe.
If approved, it would bring the UK into line with other countries offering routine varicella vaccination, including Germany, Canada, Australia and the United States, all of which have observed significant decreases in the number of cases of varicella and resulting hospitalisations. Chickenpox is a highly infectious disease caused by the varicella zoster virus. It mostly affects children but can be caught at any age. Most varicella cases in children are relatively mild; however, some children will go on to develop complications, including bacterial infections such as group A streptococcus. In rare cases it can cause encephalitis, pneumonitis, and stroke, and, in very rare cases, death.

• From 1 September 2023, the HPV vaccine programme will change from a 2-dose to a 1-dose HPV vaccine schedule for eligible adolescents and gay and bisexual men who have sex with men (GBMSM) aged under 25 years. Eligible individuals who are known to be immunosuppressed at the time of vaccination and those who are living with HIV, including those on antiretroviral therapy, should continue to be offered a 3-dose schedule as per the ‘HPV’ and ‘Immunisation of individuals with underlying medical conditions’ Green Book chapters.