No Need for Pox Parties: Visit a Westminster, CO Pediatrician for Chickenpox Vaccination

Nathan Clement had chickenpox at the age of two. Six months later, he suffered an acute stroke and his family was told that he will most likely never be able to walk, talk, read, or write. Despite the odds stacked against him, Nathan survived the ordeal and even got back on his feet swimming and playing soccer. It was a miraculous story his mother Janet had to share with other moms and parents, as reported on VacciNews.net.

Although vaccine for chickenpox, a disease caused by the varicella zoster virus, was developed in 1974, it was only made available in the United States in 1995. In Canada, where Nathan lives, the universal immunization program for chickenpox was only introduced in 2000—two and a half years after Nathan contracted the disease—in Prince Edward Island, following an outbreak in 1999. Today, any practicing pediatrician in Westminster, CO would strongly recommend chickenpox vaccination.

However, says Jason M. Glanz, PhD of major healthcare firm Kaiser Permanente, many parents still underestimate chickenpox, thus refusing to have their children vaccinated. To date, many parents continue to organize chickenpox parties—a celebratory gathering of children where at least one of them has chickenpox—to encourage the spread of the contagious virus to kids who have neither received booster shots nor contracted chickenpox before.

According to experts, many parents believe intentional transmission of the disease is safer and more effective in being immune to chickenpox. In an interview with ABC News, an Atlanta mother said parents would rather let their kids be infected early on because getting chickenpox works just as well in immunizing kids to the virus. Additionally, contracting the disease at an older age could be more dangerous.

Dr. Louis Cooper, professor emeritus of pediatrics at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, expresses his dismay over the thought of pox parties. While he stressed that chickenpox for most children may be a mild disease, for other healthy children, the sight of a child with one is unforgettable. Chickenpox, in general, isn't picky with who to hit.

Cooper compared the pox parties to a Russian roulette, as even a healthy child can end up having complications. Meanwhile, Glanz revealed on the Kaiser report that vaccines succeeded in decreasing the number of deaths and hospitalizations, which were relatively high prior to their introduction in North America.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chickenpox vaccine is effective for over 10 years. In case infections still occur after the shots, the resulting illness would be typically mild. Varicella vaccine is on the recommended vaccination schedule for children in the U.S. A pediatrician in Westminster, such as those from Indian Crest Pediatrics, recommend that children take their booster shots at 15 months of age, or at four to five years old.