Chickenpox deaths nearly eliminated for vaccinated children in the US

If you are thinking about postponing or not having your child receive the chickenpox (varicella) vaccine, please consider the following.

Chickenpox has been preventable by vaccination in the US since 1995. From 1990-1994, the total number of annual US deaths where chickenpox was determined to be the "underlying cause" was 105. (This is not a high number, but devastating event for those families).

In the first 6 years after the vaccination program there was a 66% decline in chickenpox-attributed mortality.
The 12 year data was recently published and shows an 88% mortality reduction for all ages and a 97% mortality reduction in persons 19 and younger.

Lastly, this data is based on the 1-dose vaccination program. With the current 2-dose program, there is potential for even greater mortality reduction.

If you want more details on the varicella (or any other vaccine), check out the CDC's website: www.CDC.gov/vaccine.


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