Why Do People Need a Chickenpox Vaccine?
Most cases of chickenpox are relatively mild and run their course in five to 10 days. But it can be very serious, even life threatening, in a small percentage of cases. Before the varicella vaccine was licensed in the U.S. in 1995, there were approximately 100 deaths and more than 11,000 hospitalizations a year from chickenpox. Most of the people who died were healthy before they got chickenpox. The risk of serious, life-threatening complications is greatest among infants, adults, and people with weakened immune systems. But anyone can develop serious complications and there is no way to predict who will. There’s another reason for getting a shot for chickenpox. The illness is highly contagious and can be spread by direct contact or through the air by sneezing or coughing. Also, someone can get it by coming in contact with fluid from chickenpox blisters. For that reason, children with chickenpox need to be kept out of school or day care for about a week or more; parents may need to mis
