Rash problems: the incidence of chickenpox is rapidly increasing in Russia
There is a surge in the incidence of chickenpox in several regions of Russia at once. Since the beginning of 2025, the indicator has increased by 67% in Yamal, and more than doubled in Bashkiria. Experts believe that the reason for the deterioration of the epidemiological situation is the lack of a vaccine for this disease. Since 2023, the chickenpox vaccine has been excluded from the National Calendar, as it is not produced in Russia. Therefore, regions, if desired, should buy a foreign vaccine at their own expense. But residents of at least ten regions complain that they cannot vaccinate their children even in paid clinics. How they are fighting chickenpox now and when a domestic drug will appear in Russia, — in the Izvestia article.
Where there is no vaccine for chickenpox
There is a shortage of chickenpox vaccines in at least ten regions of Russia. Residents of Bashkiria, Tatarstan, Krasnodar Territory, Sverdlovsk, Voronezh, Samara, Kirov, Rostov and Chelyabinsk regions complain on social networks that they cannot vaccinate children even in private clinics.
Anna from Bashkiria told Izvestia that interruptions in the supply of vaccines in her region have been observed for three years.
— Previously, the drug sometimes appeared in pharmacies or paid clinics, but now it is not expected there either. My child is not in kindergarten yet. We would have gone to another city for vaccination, but so far we haven't found it anywhere. It's a pity that our desire is not understood — chickenpox is considered a mild childhood disease," the woman said.
Nadezhda from Krasnodar faced a similar problem. She wanted to vaccinate her child, but she couldn't find the drug in her city.
— My child is one year and eight months old. We were able to find the drug only in Anapa, we went there. They didn't wait because they were afraid of getting sick. The vaccine is paid because it is not included in the National Vaccination Calendar, although it is available for free in Moscow," Nadezhda said.
And Maria from the capital noted that not everyone gets vaccinated against chickenpox here either — they agreed to give her child free of charge at the vaccination center at the polyclinic just because he goes to kindergarten.
Yulia, a resident of Rostov-on-Don, told Izvestia that her three—year-old son had already suffered a severe complication, chickenpox encephalitis. Due to the lack of vaccines, she did not have time to vaccinate the child in time.
— In September 2024, I decided to vaccinate my son against chickenpox, he was supposed to go to kindergarten. I called all the clinics, but the drug was nowhere to be found. I'm on the waiting list wherever I can. In the summer, the kindergarten was quarantined, I called all the clinics again, to no avail," the woman said.
Soon her child developed a rash, he got over chickenpox quite easily, but two weeks later Julia noticed oddities in her son's gait.
"He started stumbling a lot," she said. — A high fever rose at night, and the child was admitted to the department with a diagnosis of varicella encephalitis. These are liters of IVs, MRI scans, and mountains of pills. I've regretted a thousand times that I couldn't get vaccinated. My son is currently registered with a neurologist.
Izvestia sent requests to the territorial departments of Rospotrebnadzor and the Ministry of Health in the regions from which complaints were received. The Ministry of Health of the Kirov region reminded Izvestia that vaccination against chickenpox is not included in the National Calendar of Preventive Vaccinations (NCPP) — and since it is optional, it is carried out at the expense of personal funds of citizens. And the Department of Rospotrebnadzor in the Kirov region stated that "they do not perform the functions of purchasing and distributing vaccines in medical organizations."
The incidence of chickenpox has increased
Since the beginning of 2025, cases of chickenpox have been registered in all regions of Russia, Rospotrebnadzor told Izvestia. In Yamal, the incidence rate soared by 67% compared to the same period in 2024, and the number of infected children doubled, the regional department of the department reported.
In Bashkiria, the incidence of chickenpox more than doubled in 2025 to 16.5 thousand people, the Ministry of Health of the republic noted. In Ufa, as reported by local media, groups in kindergartens were massively quarantined.
In the Altai Republic, in just seven months of this year, the number of cases exceeded 1.4 thousand. Over the past year, about 1.6 thousand cases were detected there. An increase in the incidence of chickenpox was also registered in the Voronezh and Orenburg regions. According to the local Rospotrebnadzor, over the past two years, the number of cases in the Voronezh Region has doubled, more than 90% of them are children.
But in the Smolensk region, from January to August 2025, the number of infected decreased by 12.45% compared to the same period last year, to 3.3 thousand people.
At the same time, adults began to get chickenpox 28% more often, according to the report of Rospotrebnadzor "On the state of sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population of the Russian Federation in 2024." In 2025, the proportion of adults among those who became ill remained almost unchanged, the ministry told Izvestia.
"In the country as a whole, the proportion of adults in the age structure of cases has remained virtually unchanged this year compared to the same period in 2024 — 5.2% versus 5.7%. It still remains low. And the average proportion of children with chickenpox in Russia is 94.8%," Rospotrebnadzor told Izvestia.
Why is there a shortage of vaccines?
An acute shortage of chickenpox vaccines is observed throughout the country, Antonina Oblasova, director and co-founder of the NGO Collective Immunity, confirmed to Izvestia. This is due to the fact that a foreign—made drug is used in Russia, hence the difficulties with procurement, supplies and unstable prices.
— I am informed about cases when residents of Yekaterinburg flew to Moscow in search of a vaccine for a child. Accessibility is a bit easier there, at least because of the large number of private clinics that manage to "grab" a certain number of doses. I assess the situation as an acute shortage — demand is many times higher than supply. Vaccination is given only to the most persistent," the expert noted.
The only drug for the prevention of chickenpox is supplied to the Russian market — Varilrix from GSK, Nikolai Bespalov, Director of Development at the RNC Rhagma analytical company, told Izvestia. According to the analytical company, in January–August 2025, almost 400 thousand doses of the vaccine were delivered to the Russian Federation. At the same time, for the whole of 2024, the market received 281.3 thousand doses.
According to the expert, the supply of Varilrix vaccine is regular this year, the last one took place in August. Then 33 thousand doses were brought to the market.
"This year, there were no deliveries only in January and March," he added.
In 2024, the combined drug Priorix-Tetra from GSK was also launched on the Russian market, which, in addition to chickenpox, also contains components against measles, rubella and mumps, Nikolai Bespalov noted.
According to RNC Pharma, 5.16 thousand doses of this vaccine were put on the market last year, and no shipments were recorded in 2025.
The shortage of Varilrix in the regions could arise due to problems in logistics or incorrect procurement planning, Nikolai Bespalov believes.
— The drug is not included in the National Calendar of preventive vaccinations. But vaccination against chickenpox is included in the calendar of preventive vaccinations for epidemic indications," the expert recalled.
According to him, due to the fact that the chickenpox vaccine is no longer available in the NCPP, the regions must purchase it at their own expense.
"But not every entity allocates sufficient funding for these purposes," the expert noted.
When will the Russian vaccine be ready?
The clinical trial of the chickenpox vaccine, which is being produced by the Russian company Nanolek together with the South Korean company GC Biopharma, will be completed in the second half of 2026, the press service of the domestic manufacturer told Izvestia.
"The company is conducting a clinical trial of a vaccine against chickenpox according to an approved schedule based on 12 research centers in Russia," the company said. — Registration of the drug will follow. It is planned that it will be shown to children from nine months to 17 years old."
In addition, new facilities are being created at the biomedical complex in the Kirov region to produce vaccines against chickenpox, meningococcal infection and human papillomavirus.
"The work is being carried out in accordance with the Strategy for the Development of immunoprophylaxis of Infectious diseases of the Russian Federation until 2035 and provides for the organization of full—cycle production — from the active pharmaceutical substance to the finished dosage form," said Evgeny Barinov, CEO of Nanolek.
The total investment volume exceeds 15 billion rubles. Currently, the company, together with Gazprombank, is in the process of raising borrowed funds in the amount of 10 billion rubles as part of a cabinet resolution on state support for organizations implementing investment projects for the production of priority products.
"The completion of the project will allow us to reach capacities sufficient to fully meet the needs of the NCPP in terms of drugs against chickenpox, meningococcal infection and HPV," the pharmaceutical company's press service assured.
In December 2024, the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation approved Nanolek's application for conducting clinical trials of the vaccine. Registration is expected within a year after the completion of the research, this stage is scheduled for late 2026 – early 2027.
What is the danger of chickenpox?
Adults who have had chickenpox may relapse in the form of herpes zoster, Antonina Oblasova reminded.
— The majority of people, of course, get sick in childhood. But the virus is tricky — it can wait for a convenient moment when the immune system is weakened in order to manifest itself as herpes zoster. This is an extremely unpleasant condition characterized by severe soreness and rashes," the expert said.
According to her, herpes zoster is more common in the elderly and able-bodied adults. In those who are vaccinated, it appears much less frequently and passes in a milder form than in those who were ill in childhood.
Another serious complication is chickenpox encephalitis, the expert warned. In this case, patients require hospitalization and intensive care. In addition, chickenpox pneumonia is a possible secondary bacterial infection of the skin, which can result in inflammation of the soft tissues and even sepsis.
— Complications are 13 times more common in adults than in children, so it is especially important to vaccinate them if it turns out that they do not have immunity. You can even die from chickenpox — there are 40 deaths per 250,000 people at risk," Antonina Oblasova said.
In recent years, cases of severe disease have been reported in adults, including fatal cases, Vladimir Neronov, an infectious disease specialist at JSC Meditsina, told Izvestia.
— If a woman becomes infected during pregnancy, the virus can cause congenital malformations of the fetus. The risk group includes people with chronic diseases such as diabetes, COPD, and oncological pathologies. Bacterial complications and even sepsis are becoming more common in children. Although the vast majority of cases are children under the age of ten, the proportion of adults is growing, especially among those who did not have contact with the virus in childhood, the expert said.
Meanwhile, "windmill parties" are gaining popularity in Moscow again. Parents of children are specifically looking for sick people to visit the patient and infect the child, Izvestia found out.
For example, Marina, a Muscovite, is sure that it is better for a child to get sick in childhood under parental supervision than in adulthood.
— I had chickenpox as an adult. I had severe complications, so I want to keep my child safe. It's better if my daughter gets sick in childhood," the girl wrote on social networks.
Such "windmill parties" are a dangerous anachronism, said infectious disease specialist Vladimir Neronov. According to him, it is impossible to predict exactly how a person will get infected. In addition, the infected person becomes a source of infection for vulnerable people — pregnant women, newborns, the elderly and patients with cancer.
The growing number of adult cases, cases of severe complications and the still low vaccination coverage make the inclusion of chickenpox vaccination in the National Calendar an important step, says infectious disease specialist Vladimir Neronov. However, this requires a Russian-made drug, Antonina Oblasova added.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
