Children Should Be Given Chickenpox Vaccines Because of Lockdown, Say Government Advisers

The NHS has held off chickenpox vaccines due to fears they will lead to a ’significant' increase in shingles in adults.

A children's doctor injects a vaccine against measles, rubella, mumps and chicken pox to an infant in Berlin, Germany on Feb. 26, 2015. Sean Gallup/Getty Images

The chickenpox vaccine should be introduced on the NHS for young children, government scientists have recommended, as restrictions on social mixing led to fewer cases of the common childhood illness.

On Tuesday, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which advises UK health departments, said the jab should be given to all children in two doses when they are aged 12 months and 18 months.