entries tagged with “chicken_pox” from Ask The Doctor

Dear Dr. Markel,

I had my two children who are 4 yrs and 2 yrs old vaccinated for chicken pox. I've been researching the vaccination more now and I believe I made a big mistake. This shot is only 70-85% effective on minor cases. I have a friend who had her children vaccinated and they have gotten chicken pox 2-3 times(minor cases).This shot sounds like it helps you get minor cases of chicken pox many times in your life. I had chicken pox when I was tiny and now I should be immune for life. I don't believe this is the case for my children. There is a booster now required before kindergarten, should I have my children get the booster? Will this prolong there exposure until they are older when it is more dangerous to get chicken pox?