Vaccinate Against Chickenpox?

By Melissa Tennen, HealthAtoZ writer

Three-year-old Christopher died. Not from a car accident, an accidental drowning or some mysterious disease. He came down with chickenpox.

"I really beat myself up," said Victoria Serrano, his mother and a pediatric pharmacist. "Here, I'm supposed to be competent in my knowledge about pediatrics, and I didn't know."

Serrano isn't the only parent who didn't know chickenpox might kill. Nearly 50 percent of parents in a recent survey said they didn't realize chickenpox could lead to life-threatening pneumonia, encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and skin infections among adults and children.

That's why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) urge parents to get the shot for their children. At least 100 people die each year because of chickenpox complications, the CDC says. What's more, one child out of every 500 with the illness and one adult out of every 50 are hospitalized.

Almost all parents in a survey by Harris Interactive on behalf of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) and Merck & Co. Inc. were aware that a chickenpox vaccine is available. Yet less than two-thirds (64 percent) actually had their child vaccinated. Nearly all parents who were educated by a health care practitioner about the risks chose the vaccine.

But there are other advantages to getting that shot. Having an immunization for chickenpox might reduce the number of your lost workdays, your child's missed school days, the appearance of pockmarks, not to mention that torturous itching and the risk of shingles later in life from latent virus that remains in the body. However, most schools do not require the chickenpox vaccine as they do with other shots for measles and tetanus.

"As health care providers, we have to do a better job with educating people," said Tamara Tempfer, M.S.N. and NAPNAP spokeswoman.

Tempfer also said the vaccine is also important for adults who have not had the disease. Chickenpox is often more serious in adults, although experts aren't sure why.

Who should have it?

Respected organizations such as the AAP, AAFP and CDC say the millions of doses administered since 1995 (the year when the vaccine came onto the market) have shown the vaccine to be safe and effective for children. The shot has been used safely in Japan for the past 20 years and is generally considered to give lifelong protection.

All children younger than 13 years of age should get two doses of varicella-containing vaccine, with the first dose administered at 12-15 months of age and the second dose at 4-6 years of age (i.e., before a child enters kindergarten or first grade). The second dose can be administered at an earlier age provided the interval between the first and second dose is at least 3 months. The two-dose varicella vaccination schedule is similar to the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination schedule. Measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMRV) vaccine is licensed and can be given for simultaneous vaccination against measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella to children 12 months through 12 years of age. For routine immunization, a combination vaccine, such as MMRV vaccine, is preferred over separate injections of equivalent component vaccines.

A second dose catch-up varicella vaccination is recommended for children, adolescents and adults who previously had received one dose.

The chickenpox vaccine is not for everyone. People with a history of hypersensitivity (allergic reaction) to any component of the vaccine, including eggs or gelatin, should not get the vaccine.

It's best to delay or avoid immunization when:

• Your child is ill with anything more serious than a cold. Immunization should be delayed.
• Your child has an allergy to eggs, gelatin or the antibiotic neomycin that has required medical treatment.
• Your child has received gamma globulin within the past three months.
• Your child has immune system problems related to cancer, leukemia or lymphoma; is taking prednisone, steroids or immunosuppressive drugs; or is undergoing chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
• Your child is infected with HIV.

Parents should talk to their health care provider about whether the vaccination is right for their child.

Related Articles How Safe Are Vaccines? Suggested Immunizations for Children

External Sources Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Varicella Vaccine (Chickenpox). Accessed May 15, 2007. American Academy of Pediatrics. Chickenpox Vaccine, What You Need to Know. Accessed May 15, 2007.

This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.

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