What are the benefits of having chickenpox vaccination requirements for child care and school entry?
The decision to vaccinate an individual child benefits both the child and the wider community. Having vaccination requirements for entry into childcare, school, college, and other post-high school educational institutions ensures high levels of protection in these facilities and helps achieve high levels of vaccination coverage in the community. Preventing chickenpox results in less illness and school time missed by healthy children (some of whom may have serious complications) and less danger of severe infection among persons who cannot be vaccinated. Persons who cannot receive chickenpox vaccine but who are at high risk for developing serious complications include children with leukemia and other cancers, persons taking high doses of steroid medications for a variety of medical conditions (including asthma), pregnant women, and infants less than 1 year of age.
