Parents deliberately expose children to chickenpox to promote immunity

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By Joan Garrett McClane January 29, 2012 6 min read

A 3-D computer-enhanced electron microscope photo of the Varicella zoster virus, also known as chicken pox. Photo by Michael Taylor/ShutterStock

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BY THE NUMBERS1995 The year the chicken poxvaccine became available105 Average deaths annually from chicken pox between 1990 and 199414 Total number of deaths from chicken pox in 200710,600 Average number of people hospitalized each year in the U.S. before the vaccine4 million Average number of people who would get chicken pox each year in the U.S. before the vaccineSource: CDC and Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of PediatricsFAST FACTGeorgia and Tennessee require that children receive the chicken pox vaccine before they enter day care or school.REACTIONS TO CHICKEN POX VACCINESoreness or swelling where the shot is given (about 1 out of 5 children and up to 1 out of 3 adolescents and adults)Fever (1 person out of 10, or less)Mild rash, up to a month after vaccination (1 person out of 25); it’s possible for these people to infect other members of their household, but it’s extremely rare.Seizure (jerking or staring) caused by fever (very rare).Pneumonia (very rare)Other serious problems, including severe brain reactions and low blood count, have been reported after a chicken pox vaccination. These happen so rarely, experts cannot tell whether they are caused by the vaccine or not.Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Tucked away in the far recesses of the Internet, a strange black market for chicken pox has been forming in Tennessee and nationally by parents who fear that required vaccines will harm their children.

They purposely expose their children to viruses such as chicken pox, the mumps and measles, hoping they will develop natural immunity, which they argue is more effective than the vaccines.

But with fewer children contracting those viruses because of widespread vaccine use, they are having to go to extreme lengths to catch them.

Chicken pox parties are advertised through word of mouth, invitation-only Facebook groups and message boards. In October last year, a woman in Nashville was caught by a television station selling chicken pox-soaked lollipops for $50 a pop.