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Home › Articles › Nutrition and Health › Chicken Pox

Chicken Pox

No Longer an Inevitable Rite of Passage

By Neilia Sherman

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Froom chose not to have the vaccine administered to her children because she feels that it is unnecessary "if you have a healthy child and no one close to you is at risk." She did, however, ask her doctor to give her children an antiviral medication, which decreased the number and severity of the blisters. The drawback to this vaccine is the expense, which can be anywhere from $50 to $200.

Another reason that the vaccine hasn't been provided free of charge by governments across the board is the cost/benefit ratio. "The math involves the cost of preventing one serious infection and treating that case for life versus the cost of the vaccine and the medical cost of treating the expected number of side effects," says Dr. Bernholtz. "On that basis, the vaccine fails, and that is why we don't all get it. If you factor in the economic loss (parents staying home from work, etc.), the vaccine approaches a level where it makes financial sense."

At this point, the choice is up to the parents in areas where the chicken pox vaccine has not been required by school boards and daycares. They must weigh the risk of complications from the illness against the potential harm of the vaccine.

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