Working Life: It’s fantastic that children will be protected against chickenpox as it isn't just a mild illness

Dr Chantal Migone, Consultant in Public Health Medicine at the HSE National Immunisation Office (NIO)

Dr Chantal Migone, consultant in Public Health Medicine is responsible for providing clinical advice and guidance to immunisation programmes and supports the coordination of national immunisation programmes. Picture: Moya Nolan

“I grew up in Dublin, but my family is from Italy and Istria (in Croatia). Growing up, we spent great summer holidays catching up with cousins and family.
For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a doctor. I trained and worked as a GP for 10 years before training in Public Health Medicine. My first year of training was in Cork, in the Department of Public Health in St Finbarr's Hospital. Preventing illness and disability is what attracted me to the specialty. I've been lucky to work in immunisations. We’ve seen vaccines save more than 150 million lives in my lifetime.
My mum's family was really affected by diseases that are now preventable by vaccination. Her first cousins were twin girls and one sadly died from measles, while the other little girl got Polio and lives with a disability as a result.

We now have vaccines that protect children from these awful diseases — like the HPV vaccine, which protects against cervical cancer and other cancers caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. That's something people could only dream of years ago.

My day is focused on the chickenpox vaccine, now part of the routine childhood vaccination programme in Ireland. Since October 1, babies turning 12 months are offered it. It’s fantastic that children will be protected against chickenpox because it isn't just a mild illness: it can cause serious complications like pneumonia, and, in rare cases, inflammation of the brain.
I really enjoy working with general practice nurses and GPs. They do fantastic work, and their advice about vaccines is really trusted by parents. There is a lot of incorrect and misleading information about vaccines that can cause parents to worry. Advice from your GP, GP nurse, or public health nurse is the best advice to get.

Working with the team in the NIO, I ensure all the elements that make up a vaccination programme are ready. This can include checking that supplies of the vaccine are ready for delivery to GPs, that we have training/support for nurses, doctors, and other healthcare professionals who give the vaccine, and that there’s high-quality information and communication available for parents."

Chickenpox vaccine
The chickenpox vaccine has been available, free of charge, to babies turning 12 months of age since October 1, 2025

• hse.ie/eng/health/immunisation/
• www2.hse.ie/my-child/