The chicken pox vaccine remains one of the less-frequently used jabs in Finland. in 2002 2,164 people received the shot. Last year it was administered to 3,140 people.
Chicken pox is not part of the standard regimen of immunisations routinely administered to Finnish children, and those who want it must pay for it themselves.
Satu Rapola, a researcher at the National Public Health Institute, recommends considering the vaccine especially for those over the age of 13 who have not had the disease, as well as for younger children.
About 90 percent of adults have had chicken pox at some time in their lives, and experts believe that most of the remaining ten percent have had it without noticing it.
The greatest risk involved with chicken pox is linked with diseases such as pneumonia and problems with the central nervous system that can come after it.
Finnish News Agency
