The UK is set to start testing the Chickenpox Vaccine ‘Varilrix’ , the vaccine has been approved for use in the UK since 2013 but is still not part of the Countries routine vaccination schedule. Various Chickenpox vaccines are currently being used in the United States and Germany.
Chickenpox is not considered life threatening and is very common in the UK that approximately 90% of all adults have conceived the virus and formed natural immunity. The NHS website currently states why the Chickenpox vaccine is not part of the routine vaccination schedule:
Chickenpox is usually a mild illness, particularly in children. The condition is so common in childhood that 90% of adults who grow up in the UK are immune to the chickenpox virus because they have had it before.
The Vaccination is currently administered in the UK to those at high risk of complications which can be caused by the Virus such as pregnant women and those suffering with immune system disorders.
As with any virus the Chickenpox virus can in rare instances lead to complications and ultimately death, however these occurrences are extremely rare and are normally due to the individual already being inflicted with health complications prior to conceiving the virus. These rare cases are tragic but should we allow entire populations to be vaccinated to prevent these rare cases ?
At the rate at which the Vaccination industry is expanding there will likely come a time when the human race will be vaccinated for all known viruses, even the common cold. As much as a World without suffering through disease sounds appealing, is achieving it through financially driven vaccine programmes the method at which such point will be reached ? It seems unlikely.
The Telegraph published an article back in 2007 pointing out some very valid points to why children should NOT be vaccinated against Chickenpox:
It will push the disease into older age groups, who will catch the illness as their vaccine-induced immunity wears off, as we have seen happen with mumps. The complications of chickenpox are much greater in older people: an adult over 15 years of age is 10 times, and an adult over 50 is 100 times, more likely to die from the illness than a child.
A second problem is that vaccination is likely to increase the number of people getting shingles, more serious than chickenpox, that already causes 60 deaths a year, mainly among older people. A review in 2003 by government doctors concluded, “Routine infant varicella [chickenpox] vaccination is unlikely to be cost-effective and may produce an overall rise in morbidity [illness]”.
UK’s under three 2015 routine immunisation schedule
With the UK’s immunisation schedule becoming ever larger and with an increasing concern over the long term adverse effects surrounding the majority of common vaccines we really need to ask ourselves if adding another to the list is for the greater good of mankind, or the greater good of the Vaccine industry.
Sources:
