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They Say: Vax or Kids Will Get Chicken Pox
Mark this one down in the “if, then” column. A new study says if you don’t get your kids the chicken pox vaccine, they are at an extremely high risk of catching the disease.
Hence the point of vaccines.
Serving as a warning for the anti-vax crowd, the study out of the Kaiser Permanente Colorado Institute for Health Research found “children of parents who refused varicella immunizations were at a greatly increased risk of varicella infection requiring medical care compared with children of parents who accepted vaccinations.
Published in this month’s issue of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, the study says the risk was about nine times greater for the children who hadn’t received the shots.
And now for the good news: the CDC’s most recent statistics – from 2006 – show “the nation’s childhood immunization rates remain at or near record levels for routinely recommended vaccines.” In that same year, they actually saw a jump in the number of parents opting in on the chicken pox vaccine.
A CDC-sponsored study last year determined the vaccine would also prevent children from developing herpes zoster (shingles) as adults – as much as twelve time less likely than a child who battled chicken pox.
There are still parents out there throwing chicken pox parties. What about you?
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7 Comments
Audrey commented on Jan 07 10 at 5:26 pmI’m not sold on it because I want my kids to have the natural immunity to it. I don’t mind them getting it. So I’m holding off until I learn more about it.
Laure68 commented on Jan 07 10 at 5:45 pmThis should be a no-brainer, but this data does help people understand the benefits of this shot.
I’m glad you mentioned the fact that this vaccine also protects against shingles. From what I understand, they can’t make this claim until they have enough people who have had the vaccine and have lived into old age. However, in Japan they have been giving this vaccine for more than 25 years with very good data showing protection against shingles. For me, this is one of the main reasons I was all for my son getting this shot.
Dawn Crawford commented on Jan 07 10 at 6:01 pmThank you for covering this study, I hope this piece encourages parents to vaccinate their children against chickenpox.
I often get questions from parents who ask “why vaccinate against something that doesn’t kill you?”
A line from a Denver Post article about this study says it so well:
“The reason to get vaccinated isn’t just personal health but also the protection of the community, including children who have compromised immune systems because of diseases such as HIV or leukemia.”This point is one that cannot be overstated. We vaccinate to stop the spread of disease and lessen its effects.
I can’t imagine gambling with a child’s health, hoping that she is not the one who will get hospitalized due to chickenpox. I would want to spare my child the itchy misery of being sick with this disease. I would be devastated if my kid’s chickenpox infected a fragile grandparent or a child already sick with cancer.
Chickenpox is not a rite of passage; it’s a disease we can prevent. Choosing not to vaccinate a child, for anything other than health reasons, is choosing to allow the spread of disease to other children and vulnerable adults. It’s that simple.
diera commented on Jan 08 10 at 9:58 amI know someone whose mother died because of herpes zoster encephalitis – basically a recurrence of the chicken pox virus in her brain. This is a really rare thing, but was apparently a dreadful way to die. The downside to ‘natural immunity’ to a herpes virus is that you never really get over the virus; it lives in your nervous system and can cause trouble like shingles or encephalitis later in life. Vaccinations rock, IMHO.
Milly commented on Jan 09 10 at 2:29 pmCommentsSo why is it in Europe we don’t get as vax and we are NOT dying by the masses. Only until I came here did I get vaxed like a cow!
Laure68 commented on Jan 09 10 at 9:12 pmMilly, what country are you coming from? The countries I am familiar with (France and Germany) have basically the same schedule, but more combination vaccines, so you get fewer stabs. Also, what age are you that you need to get all these shots?
simpleyetcomplicated commented on Jan 10 10 at 11:52 amUsually you have to get vaccinated as a part of adjustment of status (e.g. from tourist status to permanent resident/student visa). My Polish vaccinations have not been rendered valid (even when the records have been translated to show that the schedule, doses etc. are basically the same as in the US). I personally remember at one time being vaccinated by a school nurse with a parent being present – vaccination being a part of what SCHOOL provided.
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