The U.K. government wants to add the chicken pox vaccine to the routine childhood vaccination schedule. This is the vaccine known as varicella.
Varicella is already included in the childhood vaccination schedule in the U.S. The varicella vaccine has been shown to lead to herd immunity.
Chicken pox is a mild and common condition. Authorities say that the vaccine will reduce the rare complications of the virus in children. But the varicella vaccine has been associated with herpes in young children and shingles in adults, which can create even more health complications. So it’s a trade off.
