The United Kingdom recommends applying the chickenpox vaccine to children
Britain issued its first recommendation on Tuesday to immunize children against chickenpox, proposing that children between 1 year and 18 months receive two doses of the vaccine for this highly contagious disease.
Britain’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization on Tuesday issued its first recommendation for immunizing children against chickenpox. This suggestion marks a milestone in the country’s vaccination policy, decades after other nations, such as the United States, Canada and Australia, already widely rolled out the vaccine.
Currently, in Britain, those who want to protect themselves against chickenpox must shell out around £150 ($184), AP reported.
The committee proposed that children between 1 year and 18 months receive two doses of the vaccine, which also provides protection against measles, mumps and rubella. Andrew Pollard, president of the vaccine expert group, highlighted the seriousness of chickenpox and its complications, which can lead to hospitalizations and even death.
Pollard backed the recommendation based on “decades of evidence” from other countries demonstrating the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine. The United States, a pioneer in this regard, implemented its vaccination program against chickenpox in 1995, managing to describe cases in the country as “rare”, with less than 150,000 cases and 30 deaths per year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read more
