Chickenpox is a highly contagious disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus VZV. It causes an itchy, blister-like rash. The rash appears first on the chest, back, and face, and then spreads over the entire body. Chickenpox used to be very common in the United States. In the early s, an average of 4 million people got chickenpox, 10, to 13, were hospitalized, and to died each year.
Chickenpox vaccine became available in the United States in Each year, more than 3. CDC recommends two doses of chickenpox vaccine for children, adolescents, and adults who have never had chickenpox and were never vaccinated. Children are routinely recommended to receive the first dose at age 12 through 15 months and the second dose at age 4 through 6 years.
The second dose may be given at an earlier age if it is given at least 3 months after the first dose. People 13 years of age and older who have never had chickenpox or received chickenpox vaccine should get two doses, at least 28 days apart.
Chickenpox vaccination is especially important for:. To check if you are protected from chickenpox, see Assessing Immunity to Varicella. Some people with a weakened immune system who do not have immunity against chickenpox may be considered for vaccination after talking with their doctor, including people:.
For more information on vaccination of people with weakened immune systems, see Varicella Vaccination Recommendations for Specific Groups. You do not need to get the chickenpox vaccine if you have evidence of immunity against the disease. People should check with their doctor about whether they should get chickenpox vaccine if they have immune conditions in first degree relatives parents, siblings that can be inherited called immunodeficiencies.
Most children who have family members with immune system problems can safely get varicella vaccine, as long as they themselves have a healthy immune system. Generally speaking, anyone with a damaged immune system should not get live vaccines, such as chickenpox vaccine. It also protects against shingles. It is a live attenuated vaccine, which means it contains a weakened form of the virus. The varicella vaccine is given as a shot when kids are between 12 and 15 months old. They get a booster shot for further protection at 4 to 6 years of age.
Kids who are older than 6 but younger than 13 who have not had chickenpox or the vaccine should get the 2 doses given 3 months apart. Kids 13 years or older should get their 2 vaccine doses 1 to 2 months apart. Sometimes the varicella vaccine is given in combination with the vaccine for measles, mumps, and rubella , in a vaccine called MMRV.
Kids up to 13 years old can get this vaccine. Chickenpox used to be common in the US, causing many hospitalizations and even deaths. Since the vaccine was introduced in , it has prevented millions of infections every year. It prevents severe illness in almost all kids who are vaccinated. The U. Food and Drug Administration approved the first chickenpox vaccine in and the first shingles vaccine in Compared to other childhood vaccines, the chickenpox vaccine was a relatively late development.
Maurice Hilleman , who helped develop a measles vaccine in the s, had also tried to push for a chickenpox vaccine around that time. As new vaccines helped control more severe childhood diseases, chickenpox moved higher up on the list. In addition, the period in which a person is contagious lasts for several days. It begins one or two days before the chickenpox eruptions begin to show, and lasts until all the fluid-filled skin lesions have scabbed over.
Typically, chickenpox lasts for 4 to 7 days. Before the vaccine, chickenpox spread easily in households and classrooms, and was especially dangerous for adults who had never had it. Both children and adults may experience fever, fatigue and body aches with chickenpox, but in adults these symptoms can be more severe. Adults are 25 percent more likely than children to die from chickenpox, according to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
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