Hello, ladies and gentlemen. If you are looking to get vaccinated against chickenpox in Kyrgyzstan, I have some bad news: it is not available anywhere. Regrettably, no clinics, whether public or private, have the varicella-zoster vaccines. I contacted hospitals in Bishkek, Osh, Karakol, and Naryn, including state clinics like “Family Medicine Centers,” and private clinics.
I was informed that since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a shortage of chickenpox vaccines in hospitals.
If you plan to visit Kyrgyzstan, I recommend getting vaccinated against chickenpox in your home country in advance. Keep in mind that adults and children over 12 months old will need two doses of the vaccine, with a 6-week interval. It is also advisable to combine chickenpox vaccination with measles and rubella vaccines.
Where to Get Chickenpox Vaccination in Bishkek
To answer the question directly: chickenpox vaccinations are not available in either public or private clinics in Bishkek. You can read on purely out of curiosity. Spoiler alert: there is no chickenpox vaccine in Kyrgyzstan, not only in Bishkek but also in other cities.
If you decide to come to Bishkek, many people here with chickenpox do not follow isolation protocols. Children freely roam the streets, and even adults, as soon as their temperature drops, go to stores or work, using public transport, despite still being contagious.
Though I have had contact with carriers of chickenpox multiple times, fortunately, I have not contracted it. But this is more a matter of luck. Since I did not have chickenpox in childhood, the risk of getting infected is very high.
In Bishkek, I called numerous state clinics and Family Medicine Centers, and none of them had chickenpox vaccines. So, in situations of high infection risks, there are practically no ways to protect yourself from chickenpox.
I also contacted the Republican Center for Immunoprophylaxis; you can find their contacts on their official website: https://privivka.kg/.
They mentioned that for chickenpox vaccination, one should turn to private clinics as the state does not offer such services.
I called several private clinics like Vedanta, Tsadmir, Edelweiss.
Unfortunately, none of them had vaccines against varicella-zoster. Some clinics do not administer vaccinations, and others simply do not have the vaccines.
If you wish to inquire about the availability of vaccines, the most likely places to find the required vaccines are private medical centers Tsadmir and Edelweiss.
Tsadmir:
Address: Bishkek, Moskovskaya Street, 223/1, postal code: 720010
Phone number: +996 556 659 577
Edelweiss:
Address: Bishkek, October District, Asanbai Microdistrict, 8/23, Shopping Center: Planet of Electronics, postal code: 720060
Phone number: +996 551 468 111
Certainly, you can call more clinics, but currently, the focus is on COVID vaccination, measles, rubella, and routine vaccinations according to the schedule. Chickenpox vaccines are not in high demand, so clinics do not order them.
Where to Get Chickenpox Vaccination in Osh
I’ll inform you straight away that there were no chickenpox vaccines available in both public and private clinics in the city of Osh. Therefore, it is not possible to get the vaccine in this city.
To be honest, I continued calling clinics more out of curiosity and for the preparation of this article. But if there had been a chickenpox vaccine somewhere, it could have been worth a visit.
The choice initially fell on Osh, and it can be reached by plane in just a couple of hours. The flight from Bishkek to Osh takes only 40 minutes. More time would be spent on the road.
Unfortunately, vaccines were not available in Osh either.
I first called state clinics, and the required vaccines were simply not present. Then I started calling private clinics, and they also did not have the vaccines.
So, I came to the conclusion that getting a chickenpox vaccination in Osh is not possible.
Can You Get Chickenpox Vaccination in Other Cities in Kyrgyzstan?
I did not call clinics directly in all cities, only in Karakol and Naryn. There were no vaccines available there either.
So, I concluded that getting a chickenpox vaccination in Kyrgyzstan is not possible.
In Almaty (Kazakhstan), there are no vaccines either, but according to rumors, you can get vaccinated against chickenpox in Uzbekistan. However, I did not call clinics in that country, so I cannot vouch for the accuracy of this information.
I hope this article provided you with answers to your questions. Best of luck to you and stay healthy!
