LONDON: Children in England may be vaccinated against chickenpox. Government health advisers are carrying out a study into the benefits and risks of giving jabs for chickenpox in children and shingles in adults.
It could even be combined with the MMR jab. More than nine in 10 people have had the illness by the age of 15, though very occasionally it can be fatal. A boy of five died from it earlier this summer.
Christopher Rixon, a pupil at King Athelstan primary school in Kingston, was rushed to hospital with breathing difficulties after developing complications.
Chickenpox vaccination is already used widely in America. However, administering it to most children in England would spark concern among some people given the number of vaccinations they already receive.
Previously the department of health has rejected calls for a vaccine to be introduced across Britain.
But Health Minister Ben Bradshaw revealed that independent government advisers are now looking into such a move.
He said: “The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has commissioned an expert sub-group to look at the benefits of vaccinating children, and the benefits of vaccinating adults to protect against shingles.”
Pharmaceutical experts have been working on combining a chickenpox vaccine with the jab for measles, mumps and rubella.
A department of health spokesman said the work was “in its very early stages”.
He added: “The committee considers a wide variety of issues around vaccination and immunisation. Any recommendation to make a change to the programme is only put forward after a lengthy and thorough consideration of all the evidence.”
Pre-rash symptoms of chickenpox can include a fever, headache, sore throat and backache.
Small, reddish spots then develop which can be very itchy, often starting on the head before spreading to the chest, legs and arms. Adults who catch chickenpox can develop more severe symptoms, with about 20 dying from the virus each year in England and Wales.
Pregnant women are more likely to develop complications, and the illness can cause a miscarriage or birth defects in their unborn baby.
Some health experts have been calling for teenagers to be given several more vaccinations, including for chickenpox, to protect them from illnesses and sexual infections. – London Evening Standard