Daily HealthBeat Tip

A pox

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

The chickenpox shot is not just good for your child. It's good for the country.

A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association says that, before the shots in 1995, almost everyone got chickenpox, with about 13,000 hospitalizations and 150 deaths yearly.

The medical bills were also huge.

Researcher Abigail Shefer (SHEH'-fuhr) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

"Direct medical care expenditures decreased almost 75 percent, from $85 million to $22 million." (five seconds)

The researchers add that, with most children vaccinated, there's less virus circulating, so even infants too young for the shot are less likely to get chickenpox. However, it's important that all children get the shot so they won't get chickenpox later on when they are older and the disease is more dangerous.

The shots can be given to anyone over age one.

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: October 5, 2005

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