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Article: Rising chickenpox cases indicate varicella vaccine's protection fades.
- Article from:
- Pediatric News
- Article date:
- April 1, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 International Medical News Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The protection afforded by a single dose of the varicella vaccine steadily wanes over time, according to Dr. Sandra S. Chaves of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, and her associates.
A second vaccine dose could increase protection "by increasing the proportion of children with protective antibody titers and an improved cellular immune response," they added.
Several small outbreaks of chickenpox have occurred in the United States, despite the success of the varicella vaccination program initiated in 1995. Investigations of these small outbreaks have not been sufficiently powered to definitively determine whether immunity wanes after ...