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Health Check: Vaccinating children against chickenpox

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Vaccinating children against chickenpox

2023/11/15 GMT

BBC World Service - Health Check, Vaccinating children against chickenpox

Why do some countries vaccinate children against chickenpox and others choose not to?

Chickenpox vaccines for children; how communication from doctors impacts weight loss; reducing salt intake to lower blood pressure; and shared appointments with doctors.

The committee that advises on vaccinations in the UK has recommended that chickenpox is added to the standard list of childhood vaccinations; something which the USA and many European countries have been doing for some time. So why do some countries vaccinate children against chickenpox and others choose not to? 

Claudia Hammond is joined by family doctor Ann Robinson. They also hear from conversation analyst Charlotte Albury, a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, about how doctors communicate with patients with obesity can have a significant impact on their weight loss success. 

And with shortages of doctors in many parts of the world, are shared medical appointments - where a group of patients with the same condition see a doctor together - the answer? As Anupama Chandrasekaran reports from India, a trial carried out at Aravind Eye Hospital by ESMT Berlin, Harvard Business School and London Business School, found some surprising results. 

Also discussed, high blood pressure and how reducing your salt intake can be just as effective as medication in some cases. 

Presenter: Claudia Hammond 
Producers: Jonathan Blackwell and Helena Selby 
Editor: Holly Squire

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