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Is The Chickenpox Vaccine Effective?

January 22, 2008

In Texas today it was reported by the AP that the number of cases is up by 41% even though vaccination is required.

Chicken pox cases up despite vaccine

© 2008 The Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO — Texas recorded a 41 percent increase in cases of chicken pox from 2005 to 2006, despite an eight-year-old requirement that children be vaccinated before they can enter kindergarten.

Texas enacted the vaccine requirement for the 2000-2001 school year, but has not mandated a booster for children between the ages of 4 and 6.

A federal advisory committee recommended last year that children get the second dose, after an initial dose at age 1. Texas Department of State Health Services officials said they will study the booster this spring to decide if it too should be required in schools and day care centers.

San Antonio pediatrician Dr. Dianna Burns said she has started seeing a few cases of the virus this season, which normally lasts from late winter through spring. She said most parents agree when she offers the booster.

“The problem is, we’ve had a shortage of the chickenpox vaccine,” Burns said. “That hit us just about at the beginning of school. We’ve had to prioritize to make sure everybody had at least one dose, so we prioritize toward the front.”

Chicken pox, known medically as varicella, is a viral illness marked by a low-grade fever and small blisters that break open and crust. Children with the virus are normally asked to stay home from school for a few days while they’re contagious.

Shirley Schreiber, director of health services with the Northside Independent School District in San Antonio, said vaccinated students who get chicken pox end up staying home the same number of days as they would have without the vaccine.

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