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1. What is chickenpox?

Chickenpox is a very contagious disease caused by a virus. This virus usually infects children. Older children and adults can also become infected if they haven’t already and chickenpox.

2. What are the symptoms of chickenpox?

In most cases, chickenpox is a mild disease. Early symptoms may include aching, fever, and sore throat. Then chickenpox turns into a very itchy skin rash that can develop into as many as 400 –500 sores!

3. How is chickenpox spread?

Chickenpox is easily spread through the air by sneezing and coughing or through contact with someone’s chickenpox sores. If you’ve never had chickenpox, you can get infected by just being in the same room with someone who has the disease.

4. How serious is chickenpox?

While most people recover after one week, some do not. Every year in the United States, around 10,000 people are hospitalized and up to 100 people die from complications of chickenpox.

5. Who should get chickenpox vaccine?

Children over the age of 12 months who have never had chickenpox should get vaccinated against this disease. Young children are not the only ones who need chickenpox vaccine. If teens or adults get chickenpox, they have a greater risk of serious complications. If you or your teenager haven’t had chickenpox, talk to your doctor or public health nurse about getting vaccinated.

6. How safe is chickenpox vaccine?

The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the U.S. Public Health Service all recommend chickenpox vaccine.

Research has shown chickenpox vaccine to be safe and effective. This vaccine has been used since the early 1970s in several areas of the world and studied in the United States since the 1980s.

7. Does the vaccine have side effects?

The most common side effects are mild and may include pain and redness at the injection site. Fever and fussiness may also occur. A rash may develop at the spot where the shot was given.