Britain should add the chickenpox vaccine to its routine childhood immunisation programme, the government’s vaccine advisory body have recoomended.
Their recommendation would bring the UK in line with many other countries, like the United States and Germany, which routinely vaccinate children against the illness.
The Department of Health will have the final decision on implementing the vaccine.
If approved, the vaccine would be offered to children in two doses, at 12 and 18 months of age, the UK Health Security Agency said in a statement.
Chicken Pox is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, chickenpox is relatively mild for most children, but there can be complications causing severe illness and, rarely, death, the agency said.
The highly contagious disease, which usually presents with an itchy rash, can be particularly risky for young infants and pregnant women.
The recommendation for Britain came from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), a panel of external experts.
