Reprinted from the Health District's quarterly publication mailed to district residents (Summer 2001)

When parents ask Max Elliott, MD, why their children should receive the varicella (chicken pox) vaccine, his answer is simple.

“I tell them that chicken pox isn’t the disease it used to be,” says the longtime local pediatrician.

For years chicken pox was regarded by many parents as a sort of rite of passage for children—an inconvenience that kept kids out of school for a few days or perhaps altered plans for a family vacation. 

“There are a lot more secondary infections—dangerous strep infections—out there these days,” Dr. Elliott explains. Those infections might find their way to a child with chicken pox, perhaps infiltrate the lesions on the skin, and spread throughout the body—with serious results.

Until recently there was little a parent could do to guard against the possible dangers of chicken pox. But in March 1995, a varicella vaccine was approved that is highly effective in protecting against severe forms of the disease.

The varicella vaccine is one example of how a quick spreading, widely prevalent disease can be prevented. Because the vaccine is so new, people may not yet see its results, however. In the years to come, as more children are immunized, fewer cases of chicken pox will be seen. Then, the benefits of this vaccine will be more evident, Dr. Elliott points out.

But the reality is, there are no guarantees chicken pox won’t cause serious complications. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, every year, there are approximately 5,000-9,000 hospitalizations and 100 deaths from chicken pox in the United States, some involving previously healthy children. Unlike in years past, other elements may now put more kids with chicken pox at greater risk for problems.

“There are a lot more secondary infections—dangerous strep infections—out there these days,” Dr. Elliott explains. Those infections might find their way to a child with chicken pox, perhaps infiltrate the lesions on the skin, and spread throughout the body—with serious results.

Until recently there was little a parent could do to guard against the possible dangers of chicken pox. But in March 1995, a varicella vaccine was approved that is highly effective in protecting against severe forms of the disease.

The varicella vaccine is one example of how a quick spreading, widely prevalent disease can be prevented. Because the vaccine is so new, people may not yet see its results, however. In the years to come, as more children are immunized, fewer cases of chicken pox will be seen. Then, the benefits of this vaccine will be more evident, Dr. Elliott points out.

The evidence is already in for many other childhood diseases—such as polio and measles—that can be prevented through immunizations.

The success of vaccines is a two-edge sword, however, Dr. Elliott explains. “The vaccines have been so great in eliminating diseases,” he says, “we forget how bad those diseases can be.”

Parents today didn’t live through polio epidemics, for example. Most probably knew few, if any, playmates with measles or mumps.

Dr. Elliott points out that even he, in practice since 1978, hasn’t seen all of these diseases, and many of his younger colleagues have seen few, if any, patients afflicted with these illnesses.

Yet, while doing a teaching sabbatical in Okinawa, an island in the western Pacific south of Japan, Dr. Elliott discovered prime evidence as to the importance of vaccinations. In just three months, Dr. Elliott saw numerous children hospitalized with complications from measles—nine of those children died. “There, they don’t immunize as comprehensively against measles,” he explained. “Unfortunately, they don’t have a good public health system” to help encourage widespread immunization clinics. 

In the United States, however, where most children are immunized for measles, the disease has been pretty much eliminated. That’s important, Dr. Elliott says, because one in 20 children with measles will develop pneumonia.

Yet, parents here may still have concerns about having their little ones vaccinated, particularly when they are babies. Dr. Elliott understands this, and encourages parents to research vaccines 

He hopes that by having their questions answered, parents will feel at ease having their children vaccinated—and know that many devastating diseases once unavoidable won’t invade their homes. 

“Being able to prevent something is so much better than having to treat it,” he says.