chickenpox

a breakthrough strand of chickenpox not covered by the vaccine has broken out in 90 children along the central coast. the school districts are offering booster shots to kids, but it's not clear what good these will be if they aren't immunogenic for this strain. also, getting people to congregate together to receive the vaccine is probably one of the worst ideas given the fact that chickenpox is one of the most infectious viruses. a far better model would be to distribute the vaccine (if you even decide that would be wise at all) from door-to-door so that people aren't exposed to each other.

dave

correy dekker's vaccine email:

Chicken Pox Outbreak Hits Central Coast Schools

More Than 90 Students Infected

The Chicken pox is hitting the Central Coast in a big way this month. Two local counties have been dealing with an outbreak of the virus. More than 90 children have been infected by the virus in four elementary schools. One school had to cancel class for a day in hopes that a day apart would help kids avoid the itchy illness.

Sixty-two cases have been reported in Santa Cruz County, with another 31 cases reported in San Benitor County. All 31 of the San Benito cases came from one school. Only 11 of those cases have been confirmed by county health officials. Southside school shut its doors Friday and gave students a long weekend, hoping that the time apart would allow the virus to run its course. Southside principal Eric Johnson said the virus has hit all grades equally, kindergarten through eighth grade.

"At this point, we're watching when they come in," Johnson said. "We're asking parents to keep them home if they show symptoms and go see their doctor."

The school has posted warnings outside to warn visitors of the potential health hazard and school officials have sent information packets home instructing parents on the symptoms of chicken pox and what to do if they think their child is infected. School officials also reminded families that the school will be offering booster vaccine shots on Wednesday.

As of July 2001, state law requires that all kindergarten and pre-school students have a dose of the Varicella vaccine before they can attend school. Health officials said that even though a child has received the vaccine, they can still become infected with a "breakthrough" chicken pox virus, which is milder but still contagious. The virus can be spread by nose and mouth through physical contact or through the air.

The Vaccine Page (KSBW.com)