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The other day I came across a photo of my then four-year-old son soaking in a bath trying to ease the itching from his chicken pox. 

He came through fine but the photo brought back other memories. The day before the pox emerged, my son seemed his usual bouncy self and we had invited a mate back to play after kindy. That mate’s brother was going through treatment for a childhood leukemia. The next morning when I saw the pox I didn’t recall that at first but when I did my heart sank. 

I rang the mate’s mum to pass on the unwelcome news and was sweetly reassured that the mate and his brother had had chicken pox so not to worry. Though I’m sure she did.  Soon after I heard that the mate’s brother had shingles. The story, eventually, ends very, very sadly.

I don’t know if or whether it is technically feasible that my son’s virus had a part in his mate’s brother’s losing battle against cancer, but what it did bring tragically home to me is that simple childhood diseases are never simple for some people in the community.

So the announcement that from 1 July next year that the Government will be funding the varicella (chicken pox) vaccine for all babies at 15 months is one I warmly welcome and endorse.