Drug company pays for campaign for chicken pox vaccination

Advertisements have begun to appear on Israeli television channels and radio stations and in the newspapers urging parents—at their own expense—to get their children vaccinated against chicken pox.

The campaign, organised by the Israel Paediatrics Association and the Israel Family Physicians Association, is financed by SmithKline Beecham, which manufactures Varilrix—the sole brand of varicella zoster vaccine to be approved so far by the health ministry.

The campaign was initiated and launched without the organisers having consulted or even informed the health ministry, which fears it will be pressured …