That's Fit

A good friend and I have been trying to get together for weeks. Last night she called and said, "This weekend we're going out....unless Maggie has the chickenpox." She quickly explained how her daughter had gotten sick and now has the telltale spots, and they were off to the doctor today. Maggie's been vaccinated, but according to research published this week, the conventional one shot vaccination at 12 months isn't enough.

What the recent study found was that the longer a child had been vaccinated, the higher their risk was of getting chickenpox. While the cases discovered in the study were mild, probably due to the initial vaccine, researchers aren't sure that that immunity will carry into adulthood. The disease is rarely serious, but can cause permanent scarring and symptoms are often more serious in adults.

The solution, of course, is a booster shot, so children get to look forward to an additional shot at their 4 to 6 year well child visit. In the meantime, my friend and I might have wait a few more weeks for the girl's night out.