Impact of Varicella Immunization and Public Health and Social Measures on Varicella Incidence: Insights from Surveillance Data in Shanghai, 2013-2022

To evaluate the impact of a two-dose VarV program on varicella incidence among the whole population, considering the influence of public health and social measures (PHSMs), we extracted surveillance data on varicella cases during 2013-2022 in Minhang, Shanghai. Then, we estimated the incidence trend of varicella through interrupted time-series analyses and quantified the impact of the immunization program and PHSMs using Serfling regression. We also explored the associations between PHSMs and varicella cases. The implementation of the two-dose VarV strategy was followed by a significant decrease in varicella incidence (-1.84% per month). After one year of the program, varicella incidence was estimated at a 45.25% reduction, which was higher in children (59.12% and 54.09%) than in adults (19.49%). The decrease attributed to PHSMs was 31.26% during 2020-2022, and school closing was identified as the most relevant PHSM (b = -8.03 cases, r = -0.67 with a 1-week lag). These findings indicate that the two-dose immunization program has more effectively reduced the varicella incidence compared with the one-dose vaccine, and interventions like school closings are also encouraged to serve as supplementary measures to prevent varicella epidemics.