varicella
This vaccination is now mandatory in California. And in Canada.Under a certain age, it requires a booster, but not for those who take it a little older, I think around 18 mos or so. Very simply, many kids simply don't get this disease anymore. There's misinformation out there. And while HK people don't do it, neither do the vast majority of Brits. However, MANY North Americans vaccinate for this disease if they have a child born around 2007 or later. While for most it is mild, there are always a few exceptions--also it is VERY dangerous for women who are pregnant (see a Brain, Child article 2012) and therefore a health hazard in this sense. You can transmit this disease without any visible pox showing. So your kid may be fine, but you may infect a pregnant mother. Very uncool. I know someone whose kid had a compromised immune system and ended up in intensive care in the hospital due to the pox. So benign as it may be, it's not that way for everyone...and it is a public health concern. If you do get it after the vaccination, you will get a more mild case. You are prone though to get shingles if you do get chicken pox later in life. No pox. No shingles. There are many cases of shingles which is painful and debilitating and caused by stress. People in the US now get boosters for shingles, especially seniors. I had chicken pox, but got my son vaccinated. What I entirely resented here in HK was an attitude that it was fine for everyone to get chicken pox, but that is not the case. If your child is incubating the chicken pox, pull the kid out of school BEFORE the pox start to show up (this is if a sibling has it first). You may send a child to intensive care, infect a pregnant woman etc... The reason it is not mandated everywhere around the world is that they cover the bigger diseases first (diptheria) and different health systems are burdened financially etc...
