My wife wants to take our son to a “chicken-pox party”
My wife wants to take our son to a “chicken-pox party.” Is this a good idea?
answer:
Probably not. Parents hold these gatherings because they believe it’s best to expose their kids to children already stricken with the disease at an early age, when the infection is normally less severe. But here’s the thing: “There’s absolutely no reason for these parties to even exist,” says John Bradley, M.D., a pediatrician in San Diego and member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases. What was once a childhood right of passage has gone away, thanks to the varicella (chicken pox) vaccine. “It’s much safer, and the immunity is as effective as [exposing your child to] the ‘wild’ variety,” says Bradley. The “wild” variety hospitalized 13,000 people and killed up to 150 each year before the vaccine was available, according to Rafael Harpaz, M.D., an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The vaccine is 85 percent effective at preventing the virus from ever taking hold and nearly 100 percent effective at preventing complications in those who get the disease, according to the CDC.
Email This Post
