Proof That Chickenpox Vaccines Are Working
When was the last time you saw someone with chickenpox? It’s been a while hasn’t it! That’s because the chickenpox vaccine is working!
Well, it’s been a while if you live in the United States or another country that has added the chickenpox vaccine to their immunization schedule.
Proof That Chickenpox Vaccines Are Working
Not surprisingly, countries that haven’t, still see a lot of chickenpox.
And complications from chickenpox…
In Denmark, for example, “Mild-to-moderately severe cases strain healthcare, causing increased helpline calls and posing a persistent hospitalization risk, especially for infants and children with underlying conditions.”
Which is further proof that chickenpox vaccines work!
Varivax, the first chickenpox vaccine was licensed in 1995, but it wasn’t until about 2008 that most kids had at least one dose of the vaccine. And by then, a booster dose had already been added to the schedule.
Together, this two dose schedule helped lead “to declines of >97% in varicella incidence and ≥90% in varicella-related hospitalizations and deaths.”
“A total of >10 500 varicella hospitalizations and 100 varicella deaths are now prevented annually in the United States as a direct result of vaccination and reduction in varicella-zoster virus circulation.”
Decline in Severe Varicella Disease During the United States Varicella Vaccination Program: Hospitalizations and Deaths, 1990–2019
That’s why you rarely see or hear about kids with chickenpox anymore.
And you especially don’t hear about kids dying because they had chickenpox anymore!
That’s because the chickenpox vaccine works.
Of course, we haven’t eliminated chickenpox, so intentionally unvaccinated children and adults do sometimes catch it.
But still, it is much less common than it used to be.
Chickenpox Vaccines Can Also Reduce Your Risk of Shingles
What else?
“The introduction of the varicella vaccine did, however, appear to affect rates of HZ in preteen children. Consistent with prior studies, we observed a decline in the incidence of HZ following the introduction of varicella vaccination among children <10 years of age. Our reported decline among children <10 years of age in the decade after widespread use of varicella vaccine (from 0.83 to 0.35 per 1000 PY between 1990–1994 and 2005–2007) is similar to the decline from 0.75 to 0.33 per 1000 PY reported between 2000 and 2004 in another US study.”
Increasing Incidence of Herpes Zoster Over a 60-year Period From a Population-based Study
Several studies have shown a protective effect against shingles in those who have received a chickenpox vaccine!
That’s right.
Shingles is likely to be more common in folks who had chickenpox naturally than in those who have vaccine induced immunity.