What is Chicken Pox Vaccine?
The chicken pox vaccine, also known as varicella vaccine is a live attenuated vaccine. This means that the vaccine is prepared with live, but altered virus. The varicella virus is weakened or made less virulent in the laboratory, so that it cannot cause a serious outbreak of the disease, but can produce immunity against the disease. Examples of such important live vaccines include polio vaccine, rubella vaccine, measles vaccine, etc. Chicken pox vaccine was first introduced in Japan and Korea in 1988, and then in USA in the year 1995. While majority of the individuals vaccinated with chicken pox vaccine develop immunity against the disease, a small minority can have disease even after being vaccinated. However, such individuals suffer from a very mild form of the disease, that does not lead to any major complication. Generally, the vaccine is administered to children and adolescents in two doses. In children, the first dose is usually given in between 12 to 18 months, while the second
