Does childhood vaccination against chicken pox prevent shingles?
Arvin: Children vaccinated against chicken pox may still get shingles in late adulthood. However, the evidence that we have to date is that the weakened virus used in the chicken pox vaccine, which was introduced in 1995, is less likely to re-activate and cause shingles than is the freely circulating wild-type virus that causes chicken pox. Because chicken pox is highly contagious, the vaccination is still valuable. Even if only a few children have not been vaccinated, they are likely to become infected during outbreaks, and it does not take many unvaccinated children to sustain an outbreak. Also, children who have not been vaccinated may get chickenpox if they are exposed to someone with shingles. 4. How does this new vaccine work? Arvin: The new vaccine is a more potent version of the chicken pox vaccine. The higher potency is necessary in order to boost the immune response of older adults who are already harboring the virus. In the current study, vaccination reduced the incidence of
