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The Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases (SCVPD) under the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) has recommended the incorporation of varicella (chickenpox) vaccine into the Childhood Immunisation Programme (CIP) of Hong Kong.
"The SCVPD recommendation was developed after evaluation of updated scientific evidence including local epidemiology, the latest economic analysis and recommendations among the international communities," a spokesman for the DH said today (February 25).
"Upon the SCVPD's recommendation, the DH has decided to follow the recommendation to introduce varicella vaccine into the CIP."
The recommended vaccination schedule consists of two doses of varicella-containing vaccines with the first dose of varicella-containing vaccine given to children at 1 year of age and a second dose when these children reach primary one.
The spokesman said that the DH is working on the implementation details of the new initiative. It is expected that the varicella vaccination programme would be launched in the Maternal and Child Health Centres (MCHCs) for children aged 1 year in 2014. The second dose of varicella-containing vaccines will be given by the School Immunisation Teams (SIT) when these children who have received the first dose of vaccines reach primary one.
"There is no plan to conduct catch-up immunisation," the spokesman said.
Acting on the SCVPD's recommendation, the DH will proceed with preparing the tender and other contractual work to secure supplies of varicella vaccines, which are expected to be ready in 2014, the spokesman added.
Varicella vaccination has been implemented in some developed countries like the United States, Canada, Australia and some Asian places such as Macau.
Varicella is the most commonly reported notifiable infectious disease in Hong Kong. There were 8 600 cases reported in 2012, 13 633 cases in 2011 and 11 596 cases in 2010. It is more common in winter and the majority of cases occur in children.
Varicella is a common acute infectious disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus. It predominantly affects children under 12 years of age. Although almost all persons develop lifelong immunity after chickenpox infection, the virus may remain latent in the body and recur many years later as herpes zoster (shingles).
The SCVPD's recommendations on the use of varicella (chickenpox) vaccine in the CIP has been uploaded on the CHP website (www.chp.gov.hk) today.
Ends/Monday, February 25, 2013
Issued at HKT 14:01
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