US children to get a second dose of chickenpox vaccine

doi:10.1136/bmj.334.7594.608-c

BMJ 2007;334:608-609 (24 March), doi:10.1136/bmj.334.7594.608-c

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US children to get a second dose of chickenpox vaccine

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Vaccination against chickenpox has been routine for childrenin the US since 1995. The original protocol used a single doseof live attenuated vaccine against varicella-zoster virus. Butin the middle of last year, the US Advisory Committee on ImmunizationPractices recommended a second dose of the vaccine after evidenceemerged that children's immunity was waning

In one study, researchers found that the incidence of breakthroughchickenpox went up more than 12 times between the first yearand the eighth year after vaccination among children in California.The trend was significant, and suggests that immunity wanessubstantially after a single dose. The disease also became moresevere with increasing time since vaccination, although thisanalysis was confined to children aged between 8 and 12 years.In this study, moderate or severe chickenpox (more than 50 spots)was associated with an increased risk of complications suchas pneumonia, ataxia, and . . . [Full text of this article]