Chickenpox Outbreak in Ashland: Should You Be Concerned?
Posted December 18, 2014
“Chicken pox is no big deal” is what you will often hear people say. And while it’s true that chickenpox was once common and seldom serious it’s also true that on average 2 children died every week in the US from chickenpox before the vaccine.
Ashland, OR is currently experiencing an outbreak of this disease. Should you be concerned? The short answer is yes. Getting chickenpox is a fairly miserable experience and the outcome is unknown. Severe outcomes such as pneumonia can and do occur and are especially devastating for adults. Children younger than 1 and older than 15 are more likely to have complications from chickenpox.
But the most important point is that you don’t know who you might infect. Chickenpox is contagious 1-2 days before the tell-tale rash appears.
If you are pregnant please be especially cautious. Avoid “pox parties” and any known cases or homes where chickenpox has occurred. If you have a child with chickenpox you need to notify any pregnant women your child has been in contact with. Please call your doctor and try to avoid medical office waiting rooms. If you suspect chickenpox you need to notify your clinic or MD prior to arriving.
When this outbreak is all over you will hear people say. “Vaccines don’t work. Kids that were vaccinated got chickenpox too.” This is true.
Why? Because no vaccine is 100% effective. However, these children will have very mild cases with few lesions and most likely not suffer any long term consequences. The vaccine is 95% to 100% effective against severe cases of chickenpox.
Here’s an example of why some vaccinated people will get the disease. Let’s say you have 100 children and 10% are unvaccinated but the rest are vaccinated with a vaccine that is 90% effective. All the unvaccinated children (say 10 total) will get the disease but approximately 9 vaccinated children will also come down become with a very mild illness. In the case of chickenpox you can expect a short illness with about 9 lesions or sores. These children can now infect others. The other 81 children will not be affected.
Many people think that you have to be in direct contact with someone with chickenpox to get chickenpox. That’s only partly true. The disease is actually airborne. You breathe it in. You can also get it from touching the wet lesions of an ill person. Once the lesions have crusted over they are no longer contagious. As diseases go though, chickenpox is one of the more contagious ones.
A person with chickenpox is contagious from 1–2 days before rash onset until the lesions have crusted over. It takes from 10–21 days after exposure to the virus for someone to develop varicella. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) studies state that 90% of the susceptible people (i.e. those unvaccinated) in a house with an infected person will also become infected with chickenpox.
If you or your child are exposed to chickenpox there is a window of 3-5 days where you can still get the vaccine and potentially be protected against the disease.
Getting chickenpox is not really a required childhood experience. Please be compassionate and consider the impact of spreading the disease whether intentionally or unintentionally.
For more information visit our page on
chickenpox under Vaccine Info. For information about where to get vaccinated click
here.
Ashland Child wishes you a pox free New Year.
The Oregon Immunization Exemption Law Now in Effect
The new non-medical exemption law is effective as of March 1, 2014. If you are seeking an exemption or simply wish more information about immunization in Oregon, visit the Oregon Public Health website to watch the Vaccine Education Module video.
If you do not wish to watch the video, you can see your provider who will provide you with the required education and certificate as well.
This flow chart (PDF) helps make sense of the options.
The Oregon Immunization Exemption Bill
POSTED July 17, 2013
The new Oregon Immunization Exemption Bill (PDF) SB 132 amends ORS 433.267, 433.273 and 433.284 and becomes operative on March 1, 2014.
Why is the bill needed?
- Oregon leads the nation in kindergartners whose parents have exempted them from vaccination requirements.
- Josephine and Jackson counties have non-medical exemption rates that are much higher than the state average, and they are rising. This year, for the 2012–13 school year, the state average exemption rate for kindergartners is 6.4%. Josephine County’s rate is 13.5%, up from 10.7% last year. Jackson County’s rate is 8.7%, up from 6.3%. High exemption rate will open Southern Oregon up to more outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and pertussis.
What it does:
- The bill requires that parents seeking an exemption see a health care provider or watch a video and get a certificate, in order to make an informed decision.
What it doesn’t do:
- The bill does not take away the right to get an exemption or restrict religious freedoms. It merely removes the word “religious” and refers to the school immunization exemption as a “non-medical exemption.”
- It doesn’t force you to see a doctor. The option of taking an online course is available.
- It doesn’t force you to get vaccines to attend school or daycare.
Further Information:
Oregon Public Health Immunization Law
