Chickenpox Vaccination

  1. Home
  2. /
  3. Private Pharmacy Services
  4. /
  5. Chickenpox Vaccination

Chickenpox vaccination is absent from the NHS vaccination schedule that doesn’t mean it is needed by nobody. NHS acknowledges the need for Chickenpox vaccination and so offers it to individuals who are likely to get close to people particularly vulnerable to chickenpox. For example, cancer patients having chemotherapy are very vulnerable to chickenpox contraction and hence people in close proximity to them need chickenpox vaccination. Stifford pharmacy’s Chickenpox Vaccination Service is a purely non-NHS service for adults and kids aged between one and 65 years. A full vaccination course consists of two injections given six weeks apart. If you, or your kid, have had an initial dose of a chickenpox vaccine from somewhere other than Stifford, you can still get your second dose at Stifford. Point to be noted here is that this vaccine in needed by people expected to come in contact with those vulnerable to chickenpox.

This chickenpox vaccination service is unsuitable for anyone who:

  • Has got pregnant or is breastfeeding
  • Has a weakened immune system
  • Has received the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine in the previous 4 weeks

This isn’t a comprehensive list and suitability or suitability will be checked before the vaccination.

The vaccine

This is a two dose vaccine and post completion of the course there will not arise any need for booster doses. Children are given the injections in the thigh while adults get it in the upper arm. Interval between the doses will be at least 6 weeks.

You need to get vaccinated to protect those vulnerable to chickenpox

Chickenpox vaccination is needed by anybody who has never contracted chickenpox and is in close proximity to someone who has weakened immunity. Those with weakened immunity include:

  • Those on long-term steroid tablets
  • Those having chemotherapy
  • Those whose spleen has been removed
  • Those who have had an organ transplant and are on immunosuppressant medicines
  • Those diagnosed with HIV or AIDS