Robyn Suriano of
the Sentinel Staff Posted April 10,
2001, 11:02 PM EDT
Most Florida children from ages 1 to 5 will need to get
vaccinated for chickenpox in the next two months under a new state law that
requires the protection for kids in day care and those headed into
kindergarten.
The rule goes into effect July 1 for day-care children at
least 1 year old and for all youngsters starting kindergarten this fall.
Children who had the disease already just need to show proof with a form filled
out by their doctors.
In time, health officials say the new law could reduce outbreaks
of the disease, along with its rare but devastating risk of death or serious
complications such as brain damage. They are urging parents to take care of the
shot soon.
Christina Keough, immunization program manager for the Orange
County Department of Health. “Parents should not wait until the end of the
summer to take care of this requirement. It’s time to act now.”
By fall, 24 states including Florida will have added chickenpox
to their mandatory childhood vaccinations.
The vaccine is not required for older children, but the government
recommends the shot for every child.
Chickenpox is caused by a highly contagious virus, varicella-zoster,
which can be passed through the air or by direct contact with an infected
person.
Put the virus in a house with 10 people who haven’t had
chickenpox, for example, and nine of them will come down with it, said Jane
Seward, acting chief of the child-vaccine preventable-disease branch at the national
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There are an estimated 4 million cases of chickenpox in
the United States each year, resulting in 11,000 hospitalizations and 100
deaths. The fatalities can be caused by rampant bacterial infections through
the broken skin of open sores. The disease also can lead to serious cases of
pneumonia or brain infections that result in lifelong disability, she said.
While most get through the illness with only a few pink
scars, there is no reason to endanger anyone when the vaccine is available,
said Dr. Jay Hughes, chairman of the Central Florida Immunization Coalition,
which promotes vaccinations with educational efforts.
“It used to be something that we purposely exposed our children
to, which may have been fine for the time, but it certainly makes sense today
to immunize our children against the disease,” Hughes said.
Through May 9, the Orange County Health Department is visiting
schools throughout the county with free chickenpox and other vaccines. The
program began last October, and will visit 26 schools. Florida Hospital is
donating a driver and a specially equipped medical van for the program.
Keough said 241 chickenpox vaccines have been dispensed at
the schools so far. Statewide, health departments are using about 6,800 doses
of chickenpox vaccine a week, at a cost of $39 a dose, according to the Florida
Department of Health.
Private doctors pay about $45 per dose, but most health
plans cover the shots.
Some parents have expressed concerns that the vaccine, which
hit the market in 1995, may not give their child lifelong protection from the
disease. When contracted as an adult, chickenpox can be an extremely serious illness.
But Seward said the vaccine has not been found to lose effectiveness
in Japan, where it has been given for the past 20 years, and among early
vaccine recipients who got their shots 13 years ago in the United States.
She said the chickenpox vaccine is made from live viruses,
which typically offer lifelong protection.
“It’s something that we do have to watch for, but what we’ve
seen from other live-virus vaccines is that you get a very good and
long-lasting immunity,” Seward said. “There is no indication that protection
wanes.”
Anne Deuchler of Winter Park did not hesitate to get her
children immunized for the disease. They still may bring stomach bugs and colds
home from school, but she never has to worry about chickenpox.
“I like having the confidence when I send my children to
school that they are not going to be exposed to a potentially serious
situation,” she said.
ALL
INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR
GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE
KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED
AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO
VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU
ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.