It is a more serious disease than you think, says Tina Crafoord, head of the unit for vaccination programs at FHM. For the youngest, chicken pox is usually a mild disease, albeit with troublesome and itchy blisters. But for adults it can be more serious and for certain groups, for example cancer patients with a weakened immune system, the disease can lead to life-threatening conditions. If pregnant women are infected, there is a risk of fetal death. With vaccination, we reduce the amount of chickenpox virus in society and then we also protect those who are absolutely the most fragile, says Tina Crafoord. Two syringes The Public Health Agency proposes that the chickenpox vaccine should be given at the BVC at the age of one and a half, when the children are still there to receive the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MPR). Dose number two can then be given in grade one or two, in conjunction with the second MPR shot. Then it will be at the same time, but two different syringes, of course. The proposal has been submitted to the government, which must make a decision. FHM cannot answer how quickly regions and municipalities can then start giving the vaccinations. Anyone who has had chickenpox runs the risk of contracting shingles, which is caused by the same virus, later in life. A positive side effect of widely offering vaccines against chicken pox can therefore in the long run be that fewer people contract shingles in the future. The pandemic got in the way But then why hasn’t a vaccine against chicken pox been offered on a broad front before? The investigation by the Public Health Agency began several years ago, explains Tina Crafoord, but the pandemic came in the way. For obvious reasons, our focus was very much on the pandemic management and therefore we did not come ashore with this earlier.
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