Book your chickenpox vaccine online
Book Appointment
| Chickenpox Vaccine | Price | |
|---|---|---|
| Single Chickenpox Vaccination | £79 | |
| Course of Treatment: 2 doses required | £158 | |
| Total cost including nurse fee | £183 |
Fleet Street Clinic is not a VAT registered company
What are the symptoms of Chickenpox?
The Chickenpox virus typically causes a fever and a rash consisting of itchy, inflamed pimples that soon turn into blisters and crust over to form scabs.
The rash tends to first appear on the chest, back and face before spreading to the rest of the body. It has been known for people to have up to 500 blisters or more over their entire body. This can be itchy, uncomfortable and leave scars.
In adults, it can lead to more serious diseases such as pneumonia. In people with reduced immunity, chickenpox can even be fatal.
How many doses of the Chickenpox vaccine does my child/ I need?
Two doses
Two doses of vaccine are necessary, normally with a 4-week gap between the doses.
At what age should my child be immunised against Chickenpox?
The chickenpox vaccine, Varicella can be administered from the age of nine months onwards.
Most children have been exposed to the chickenpox virus by the age of 12 – therefore the earlier your child is vaccinated, the better.
The best way to prevent chickenpox is to get the chickenpox vaccine.
What is Chickenpox?
Chickenpox is a highly contagious infection caused by the varicella-zoster virus.
It can cause an itchy, blister rash. After a person has chickenpox, the virus can live dormantly in the nervous system for the rest of the person’s life, however, sometimes the virus can become active again in later life in the form of shingles.
How does Chickenpox spread?
Chickenpox is spread by inhaling droplets spread by an infected person (through coughing, sneezing, talking etc) or by physical contact.
People with chickenpox become contagious about 2 days before the appearance of a rash, which can make it difficult to avoid becoming infected.
How does the Chickenpox vaccine work?
Chickenpox vaccine contains live, weakened virus that stimulates immunity to varicella-zoster virus and protects against chickenpox.
It stimulates immunity through the production of antibodies which will help fight the virus if you are exposed to it.
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Book your chickenpox vaccine online
Book Appointment
| Chickenpox Vaccine | Price | |
|---|---|---|
| Single Chickenpox Vaccination | £79 | |
| Course of Treatment: 2 doses required | £158 | |
| Total cost including nurse fee | £183 |
Fleet Street Clinic is not a VAT registered company
FAQs
Your child’s vaccination history is recorded in a red book and so that we can keep their vaccination records accurate and up to date, we would recommend that you bring it with you to your appointment. Although, rest assured, if you forget it, we can still see you and vaccinate your child without it.
Yes they can. The vaccine is recommended for anyone who has never had chickenpox or been previously vaccinated.
1 single dose of the Varicella vaccine is 85% effective at preventing any form of chickenpox and almost 100% effective at preventing severe chickenpox. 2 doses of the Varicella vaccine is 98% effective at preventing any form of chickenpox and 100% effective at preventing severe chickenpox.
The most common side effect of chickenpox vaccine is soreness around the injection site. A mild rash may also develop in 10% of vaccinated children but this is nothing compared to the itchy rash from catching chicken pox itself.
Although varicella is a live vaccine, it contains a weaker version so that the vaccine doesn’t cause disease.
The chickenpox vaccination can be given to both children and adults. Chickenpox is more serious in adults but even a child will suffer unnecessarily if they catch chickenpox. As it is preventable, it makes sense to get vaccinated.
If you or your child has recently been exposed to a person with chickenpox, and have not had chickenpox in the past, there may be some benefit to being vaccinated. Early vaccination may prevent the disease appearing or may make it less serious. The vaccine will also protect you from future exposure to chickenpox.
We can perform a blood test to check your immunity (results available within 24 hours) – many individuals who are concerned about possible exposure turn out to be already immune.
Chickenpox vaccines contain a live virus, and therefore should not be given to individuals who have reduced immunity (e.g. as a result of HIV, or cancer chemotherapy) or during pregnancy. If other live vaccines are also needed, they should be administered on the same day or with a gap of at least one-month between them for optimal efficacy. We will be happy to advise you in more detail when you attend.
The chickenpox vaccine is not part of the routine childhood vaccination schedule offered by the NHS. It is only currently offered to people who are in close contact with someone who is particularly vulnerable.
Most vaccines take a few weeks to become effective because this is how long the body takes to produce a sufficient amount of antibodies in order to fight infection.
As the varicella vaccine is a live vaccine, we can presume that immunity will be long-lasting, which is typical for live vaccines. However, it is not currently known how long that protection would be. Several studies have shown a vaccinated person held antibodies 10-20 year after vaccination.
