The vaccination against chickenpox

introduction

The chickenpox vaccination vaccinates against the varicella virus, which belongs to the herpes family and causes the disease chickenpox.
Chickenpox occurs mainly in childhood. The skin and mucous membranes become itchy, reddish blisters. Most chickenpox diseases are uncomplicated and heal within weeks.

However, since the disease lasts for weeks and is highly contagious until the vesicles heal, it is assumed that an infection rate of almost 100% after a one-hour stay with an infected person has made the STIKO (Vaccination Commission) decided to make a recommendation for vaccination against chickenpox . Statistically speaking, the high rate of infections and the long duration of the disease also lead to a high rate of complications.

Complications of chickenpox infection

The rare but serious complications of chickenpox include:

• Superinfection (bacterial infection through chickenpox), this can lead to severe pneumonia, for example

• Reye syndrome

• Blood poisoning

• Meningitis or encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain or meninges, which in turn can cause permanent damage

• Strokes, caused by altered blood vessels

Vaccination is particularly important, if it was not already done in childhood, before pregnancy.
Fetuses that are infected with the varicella virus (chickenpox) often develop severe malformations that can also trigger a miscarriage.

Read more on the topic: Vaccination side effects

Who should be vaccinated against chickenpox?

The chickenpox vaccination is particularly recommended for:

• children
• unvaccinated adults
• People who work in the hospital
  and
• Women who want to have children

When should vaccinations start?

Since the vaccination against chickenpox is a live vaccine, it is administered later as a dead vaccine, which can be vaccinated from the age of two months.
In order to vaccinate live vaccines, the immune system must be more mature. The first vaccination against chickenpox, which is usually vaccinated together in a combination vaccine with mumps, measles and rubella, should take place between the eleventh and fourteenth months according to the vaccination calendar of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).
If the chickenpox vaccine (also known as varicella vaccine) is not vaccinated together with the MMR vaccination (MMR = mumps, measles, rubella), there should be a period of at least four weeks between the two vaccinations.
If a timely vaccination was missed, a chickenpox vaccination can be made up at any time. Compared to children, complications with chickenpox infection occur more often in adolescents and adults, so that if vaccination has not yet been carried out and those who have not yet had chickenpox, a vaccination should be made up.

How is chickenpox vaccination carried out?

It should be total twice a chickenpox vaccination be performed.
For children, it is recommended once at the age of approx. 11-14 months to vaccinate and then aged again 15-23 months.
It should at least 4 weeks apart be kept between vaccinations.
In special cases it is also possible to vaccinate earlier, but it is recommended not your child before the age of 9 months to vaccinate. Older children and adults can also be vaccinated.
There are Combination vaccines, thus at the same time against:

• measles
• mumps
• rubella
  and
• chickenpox

The chickenpox vaccine is injected subcutaneously, i.e. under the skin, or intramuscularly, i.e. into the muscle. It is an active vaccination with a live vaccine.

How often do I have to get vaccinated against chickenpox?

Vaccination against chickenpox is necessary twice. Then there is a basic immunization.
In contrast to other vaccinations, chickenpox does not require a booster vaccination after a few years. The vaccination protection lasts for life after two vaccinations. After the first vaccination between the eleventh and fourteenth months, the second vaccination should take place between the ages of 15 and 23 months. Then there is complete vaccination protection. A second vaccination is necessary because the vaccination protection after the first vaccination is only around 80% - after the second vaccination, the vaccination protection is usually almost 100%.

When does the chickenpox vaccination need to be refreshed?

In contrast to other vaccinations, there is no need for a booster vaccination after the basic vaccination (double vaccination) with a chickenpox vaccination. For people who work in the healthcare sector, the so-called vaccination titers are determined for setting. A vaccination titer is the level of antibodies against a vaccine pathogen. If the number of antibodies is too low (the vaccination titer is too low), a re-vaccination is recommended in order to guarantee full vaccination protection.

What should be considered after a chickenpox vaccination?

To one Chickenpox vaccination you should be careful that you do more three months after vaccination don't get pregnant.
Except pregnant women should also immunocompromised patients, Patients with a Allergy to egg white and one Allergy to neomycin do not get vaccinated.

Fever after vaccination against chickenpox

Fever can occur in response to the chickenpox vaccination. The vaccine contains weakened / harmless pathogens that cannot cause a complete chickenpox disease, but can lead to a slight general reaction. As part of this general reaction, a fever can occur, which should however subside within a few days.
Rarely, the rise in fever can also lead to a febrile seizure. About 1 in 10 people who are vaccinated may develop a mild fever as a result of the vaccination. Furthermore, a so-called vaccination disease rarely occurs one to four weeks after the vaccination. This is a very weak form of the vaccinated disease. In the case of chickenpox, there is a slight fever and a mild chickenpox-like rash.
In addition to fever as a side effect, there are primarily local reactions at the injection site, such as reddening, swelling or pain in the arm.

Read more on the topic: Fever after vaccination

Vaccination complications

Rare to step Complications after a chickenpox vaccination.
The complications include:

• a allergic reaction of the skin at the vaccination site
• Shingles
  and
• at immunocompromised patients can also be a slight chickenpox illness

occur.
The side effects of the combination vaccine are the same.

Can children vaccinated against chickenpox infect other children?

The pathogen can potentially be transmitted. However, this can only occur if the person being vaccinated develops a vaccine disease, i.e. a mild form of chickenpox. It is still very unlikely that another person will be infected by such a vaccinee.
In the few cases that have been described so far, the people who have become infected were immunocompromised people or pregnant women. Since an infection through a vaccination has so far been observed extremely rarely, this infection need not really be feared.

Can you still get chickenpox despite a vaccination?

For some people who have been vaccinated, the vaccine may not respond one hundred percent, so that there is still a residual risk of infection.
Vaccination prevents disease in around 70 to 90% of cases. If the disease breaks out despite being vaccinated, it is usually much milder so that there are usually no complications.

What are the costs of the vaccination?

Basic vaccination against chickenpox, for which two vaccinations are required, costs around € 115. However, this also depends on the vaccine used.

Who bears the costs?

The chickenpox vaccination is recommended as a standard vaccination by the Standing Vaccination Commission, the double vaccination is covered by the health insurance. No co-payments from the patient are to be expected.

What is the connection with shingles?

If you are infected with the chickenpox virus (varicella-zoster virus) for the first time, this triggers the chickenpox disease. The disease usually heals on its own after a few days. The virus then remains in the body, however, it withdraws into nerve cell bodies near the spine.
In old age or due to a weakened immune system, the virus can reactivate, which then migrates along nerve tracts towards the skin and leads to a very painful, belt-shaped rash. This manifestation is known as shingles (herpes zoster), which can be associated with more serious complications than chickenpox.
In vaccinated children, on the other hand, shingles occurs much less often, as they never came into full contact with the virus as part of an infection, so that no virus was able to implant in their nerve cells. However, it can be assumed that the number of shingles cases is currently only increasing temporarily. If the children who are usually vaccinated against chickenpox today get older, the shingles should occur much less frequently because most of them do not carry the virus.

discussion

The chickenpox vaccination remains controversial.
Vaccination opponents state that chickenpox a harmless disease and that the complication rate is higher in old age than in childhood and that vaccination is only a postponement of the disease into old age.
There have been many studies on the subject, but the fear is unfounded.
Many studies, including a study from Yale, show that the double vaccination gives a permanent effectiveness of 98.3%.
With just one vaccination, the number drops to below 90%. Since there is vaccination in the States almost 10 years longer, there are comparative figures, none of them prove a feared transfer of the disease into adulthood.

Vaccination against chickenpox in adults

If an adult has not yet had a vaccination, it can be obtained in adulthood. Often unvaccinated adults have already had the disease.
However, there are clear vaccination indications for certain groups of people. This applies to adults with a weakened immune system, patients with neurodermatitis, women who want to have children, medical staff who have contact with children or people with a weakened immune system, and staff in kindergartens or primary schools.

Should women get vaccinated before they become pregnant?

Women who want to have children who are not yet vaccinated against chickenpox or who have not yet had a chickenpox infection should get vaccinated before they become pregnant.
If it cannot be determined whether a chickenpox infection occurred during childhood, antibodies against chickenpox can be determined. If these are increased, this indicates that you have already passed through chickenpox infection. If a chickenpox infection occurs during an existing pregnancy, this can lead to a miscarriage or, in the unborn child, to a varicella syndrome (e.g. malformations of the eyes, the brain, the extremities).
These complications should be prevented with vaccination before the onset of pregnancy. Live vaccines, such as the chickenpox vaccine, are contraindicated during pregnancy, so a woman should not become pregnant for four weeks after receiving a live vaccine. Inactivated vaccines, on the other hand, can also be administered during pregnancy.

Read more on the topic: Vaccination during pregnancy