The first
chickenpox vaccine was created and approved for use in Japan in 1974. Vaccine production is carried out using a live attenuated strain.
After receiving positive results regarding efficiency and safety, as well as the ratio of development costs, vaccination against chickenpox for adults and children was included in the immunization programs of some industrialized countries. Today, mass use of the vaccine is quite common.
In Russia in 2008, the first vaccination against chickenpox was registered. The vaccine was called Varilrix. Since 2009, this vaccine has been included in regional immunization programs.
It should be said that the chickenpox vaccine is used today in more than 92 countries of the world, including the UK, Canada, Germany, France, Spain, Italy. The vaccine has been registered in some Baltic countries. From the first registration to the present day, around the world the chickenpox vaccine has been given about eleven million times. The efficacy and safety of Varilrix vaccine has been proven in clinical trials that have been performed in many countries around the world. This chickenpox vaccine is in full compliance with all WHO requirements.
Vaccination is allowed for use in adults and children older than one year. Since 2009, the vaccine has been part of the regional immunization calendar for epidemic indications in Moscow.
It should be noted that the chickenpox vaccine is primarily used in people at risk. These include, in particular, those suffering from severe diseases of a chronic course, patients with leukemia, patients receiving radiation therapy and immunosuppressants, as well as those for whom organ transplantation is planned .
It must be said that immunization of people at risk is carried out in the absence of symptoms that would indicate a deficiency in cellular immunity and in accordance with the results of a clinical blood test.
Among temporary contraindications for vaccination, it should be noted infectious pathologies, including acute course, as well as exacerbation of chronic pathologies. In such cases, the chickenpox vaccine is postponed until complete recovery or is carried out without exacerbation according to medical indications.
Contraindications to immunization include severe immunodeficiency resulting from lymphoma, leukemia, HIV infection, the use of high doses of corticosteroids and immunosuppressants.
Vaccination is not carried out by pregnant and lactating. The varilrix chickenpox vaccine is not administered to patients who are prone to allergic reactions to the components of the drug, as well as those who have had allergic reactions in previous injections.
As observations show, the introduction of the Varilrix vaccine promotes the development of stable immunity. In children under twelve years of age, immunization effectiveness is on average about ninety-eight percent. In persons over the age of thirteen, the protective properties of antibodies are estimated at almost one hundred percent.