Varicella vaccine

Not to be confused with Variola vaccine.

Varicella vaccine
Varicella vaccine
Vaccine description
TargetVaricella
Vaccine typeAttenuated
Clinical data
Trade namesVarivax, Varilrix, others
AHFS/Drugs.comMonograph
MedlinePlusa607029
Pregnancy
category
Routes of
administration		subcutaneous
ATC code
Legal status
Legal status
Identifiers
CAS Number
DrugBank
ChemSpider
  • none
UNII
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Varicella vaccine, also known as chickenpox vaccine, is a vaccine that protects against chickenpox.[9] One dose of vaccine prevents 95% of moderate disease and 100% of severe disease.[10] Two doses of vaccine are more effective than one.[10] If given to those who are not immune within five days of exposure to chickenpox it prevents most cases of disease.[10] Vaccinating a large portion of the population also protects those who are not vaccinated.[10] It is given by injection just under the skin.[10] Another vaccine, known as zoster vaccine, is used to prevent diseases caused by the same virus – the varicella zoster virus.[11]

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends routine vaccination only if a country can keep more than 80% of people vaccinated.[10] If only 20% to 80% of people are vaccinated it is possible that more people will get the disease at an older age and outcomes overall may worsen.[10] Either one or two doses of the vaccine is recommended.[10] In the United States two doses are recommended starting at twelve to fifteen months of age.[9] As of 2017, twenty-three countries recommend all non-medically exempt children receive the vaccine, nine recommend it only for high risk groups, three additional countries recommend use in only parts of the country, while other countries make no recommendation.[12] Not all countries provide the vaccine due to its cost.[13] In the United Kingdom, Varilrix, a live viral vaccine[14] is approved from the age of 12 months, but only recommended for certain at risk groups.

Minor side effects may include pain at the site of injection, fever, and rash.[9] Severe side effects are rare and occur mostly in those with poor immune function.[10] Its use in people with HIV/AIDS should be done with care.[10] It is not recommended during pregnancy; however, the few times it has been given during pregnancy no problems resulted.[9][10] The vaccine is available either by itself or along with the MMR vaccine, in a version known as the MMRV vaccine.[10] It is made from weakened virus.[9]

A live attenuated varicella vaccine, the Oka strain, was developed by Michiaki Takahashi and his colleagues in Japan in the early 1970s.[15] American vaccinologist Maurice Hilleman's team developed a chickenpox vaccine in the United States in 1981, based on the "Oka strain" of the varicella virus.[16][17][18] The chickenpox vaccine first became commercially available in 1984.[10] It is on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines.[19][20]

  1. ^ "Varicella virus vaccine (Varivax) Use During Pregnancy". Drugs.com. 6 February 2019. Archived from the original on 23 October 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  2. ^ "Varivax – Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC)". (emc). 29 November 2018. Archived from the original on 7 March 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  3. ^ "Varilrix 10 3.3 PFU/0.5ml, powder and solvent for solution for injection – Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC)". (emc). 20 February 2020. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  4. ^ "Varivax – varicella virus vaccine live injection, powder, lyophilized, for suspension". DailyMed. Archived from the original on 24 March 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference FDA Varivax was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference FDA Varivax archive was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Varilrix". European Medicines Agency (EMA). 26 June 2020. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  8. ^ "List of nationally authorised medicinal products" (PDF). ema.europa.eu. 27 October 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 May 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d e "Chickenpox (Varicella) Vaccine Safety". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 27 October 2015. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Varicella and herpes zoster vaccines: WHO position paper, June 2014". Relevé Épidémiologique Hebdomadaire. 89 (25): 265–287. June 2014. hdl:10665/242227. PMID 24983077.
  11. ^ "Herpes Zoster Vaccination". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 31 July 2015. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  12. ^ Wutzler P, Bonanni P, Burgess M, Gershon A, Sáfadi MA, Casabona G (August 2017). "Varicella vaccination - the global experience". Expert Review of Vaccines. 16 (8): 833–843. doi:10.1080/14760584.2017.1343669. PMC 5739310. PMID 28644696.
  13. ^ Flatt A, Breuer J (September 2012). "Varicella vaccines". British Medical Bulletin. 103 (1): 115–127. doi:10.1093/bmb/lds019. PMID 22859715.
  14. ^ "Varilrix". Archived from the original on 28 July 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  15. ^ Gershon AA (2007). "Varicella-zoster vaccine". In Arvin A, Campadelli-Fiume G, Mocarski E, Moore PS (eds.). Human Herpesviruses: Biology, Therapy, and Immunoprophylaxis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521827140. PMID 21348127. Archived from the original on 23 November 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference Schillie_2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference www.historyofvaccines.org was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference embryo.asu.edu was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ World Health Organization (2019). World Health Organization model list of essential medicines: 21st list 2019. Geneva: World Health Organization. hdl:10665/325771. WHO/MVP/EMP/IAU/2019.06. License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.
  20. ^ World Health Organization (2021). World Health Organization model list of essential medicines: 22nd list (2021). Geneva: World Health Organization. hdl:10665/345533. WHO/MHP/HPS/EML/2021.02.