One Important Vaccine You Should Not Chicken Out On

on August 1, 2011 at 1:47 PM

Chicken Pox Blisters I know that I, for one, kind of went “buh?” when I heard there was a chicken pox vaccine. Unlike polio and German measles, I thought it was a harmless inconvenience. Did I love sitting in the bathtub with an oatmeal-filled sock as my skin oozed and I missed days of my beloved B’nai Or nursery school? No. But it was over in a flash, it seemed.

Except that for 100 kids each year, chicken pox actually used to prove fatal. I know -- that kind of blows my mind. And I say “used to” because child deaths from chicken pox have decreased by 97 percent since the vaccine was brought into general use 12 years ago.

Wow. Very few deaths is great, but almost none is even better. Absolutely, I'll get that vaccine for my kid.

A study in the most recent Pediatrics looked at all deaths and serious complications from chicken pox, not just in children but in adults as well. They also corrected for kids who tended to have adverse reactions to vaccines -- taking them out of the study -- and were able to prove that almost all of these deaths were preventable, while the vaccine wouldn’t have caused a problem.

In addition, the researchers pointed out an additional benefit: fewer work days lost by parents of sick kids, and fewer medical resources used across the board.

Most kids are vaccinated against chicken pox between 12 and 18 months of age. More recently, doctors have begun recommending a two-dose vaccination, and older people (like over 55) can get a vaccine against shingles, a much more painful and debilitating version of the virus that anyone who’s had chicken pox can get later in life.

I’m so glad to see this research, because I consider myself pretty well-informed about health and vaccines, yet I was surprised to hear there was a vaccine against chicken pox. Now that I think about it, I'd rather give her that immunity than make her have to earn it -- her little body has enough to do.

Are you getting the chicken pox vaccine for your kids? Did you ever know someone who died from complications from chicken pox or shingles?

Image via DPlanet::/Flickr

About the author Amy Keyishian

can't understand you when you ask like that -- can you ask again in a voice that isn't whiny?

Filed Under: doctor visits, safety, vaccines

Comments (39)

Nonmember comment from me

on Aug 1, 2011 at 1:53 PM

oh heck no I wouldn't get that vaccine. you know it only lasts about 20 years? then all those people who don't have the natural immunity to chicken pox will get shingles?

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buffalove23

on Aug 1, 2011 at 2:00 PM

My child will get the chicken pox vaccine maybe at four or five. Too many shots for my liking.

Facebook comment from Beth Herz

on Aug 1, 2011 at 2:03 PM

Actually you need to be over 60 to get the shingles vaccine which doesn't help the middle aged who are now contracting shingles at a higher rate than ever because they are not receiving immunization boosts from young people who contract the chicken pox. And the vaccine does not guarantee immunity, you can still get the chicken pox if you receive the chicken pox vaccine.

Melissa042807

on Aug 1, 2011 at 2:05 PM

Yes, we did the chicken pox vaccine. I don't know anyone who has died from chicken pox, but I had a cousin with a genetic disease who caught chicken pox even though her parents were really careful (this was in the 80's) and she had to be hospitalized for the duration of her chicken pox. It's not something to mess around with in my mind.

hallieballie

on Aug 1, 2011 at 2:08 PM

You can still get shingles even if you've had the chicken pox. My husband has.

My kids are vaxed for it, if no one vaxed then we wouldn't but I didn't want to risk my kids not getting the chicken pox when they were young because they weren't exposed to anyone with them, then end up getting them when they're older.

Facebook comment from Kasey Comingore

on Aug 1, 2011 at 2:15 PM

did you know that if you vaccinate your daughter against chicken pox, she will not be able to pass along her immunity through breast milk, thus protecting her infant against a disease that is dangerous to very young children (best age for chicken pox is 3-10 i think).

ppl who get the chicken pox vax are at an increased risk to get shingles because the vax can wear off, leaving these ppl with only partial, or no, immunity.

Nonmember comment from a

on Aug 1, 2011 at 2:18 PM

No. This vaccine is BS. I understand being conflicted about vaccines for diseases that are actually dangerous, and not just to the immunocompromised. We need the immunity that comes from getting chicken pox, not the artificial immunity that wears off and leaves us susceptible again when we are older and it's worse.

Facebook comment from Jaime Hinderliter Faneuf

on Aug 1, 2011 at 2:19 PM

I will never again allow one of my children to get this vaccine. My 2 older kids, now 11 and 8 had the chicken pox in 2007, and my 8 year old possibly had them in 2005 also. I don't see a point in getting the vaccine if they are just going to end up with them anyway.

I have a 2 year old btw, and I am planning on having another baby next year. So my 2 youngest will not get this vaccine.

micheledo

on Aug 1, 2011 at 2:26 PM

I still don't see the point. Everything has the potential of killing my child. And while every single death is tragic, 100 is really not that many! The common cold can result in death. Cars kill FAR MORE children and we don't try to eradicate them.

Also, like others have mentioned, shingles has become SO prevalent since the introduction of the chicken pox vaccine. That is an awfully odd coincindence! I know children who have gotten the shingles, and once you have them they can cause pain and irritation for the rest of your life. My husband is still bothered by his occasionally. Shingles is a painful, recurring disease and by vaxing for a mostly, simple, childhood disease we have increased the occurences of another.