Glanz JM, McClure DL, Magid DJ, et al. Parental refusal of varicella vaccination and the associated risk of varicella infection in children. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2010;164(1):66-70.
Due to many factors, including a lack of public trust and belief in the national immunization program, conflicting studies concerning immunizations and chronic illnesses, and expanding vaccine schedules, many parents have chosen to refuse certain vaccinations for their children. Many of them have gathered information from their pediatricians, and pharmaceutical companies via the Internet, regarding the benefits and risks associated with each vaccine, and then have made their own decision whether or not to vaccinate their children.
The varicella, or chicken pox vaccine, is the most commonly refused vaccine by parents today mostly because it is not considered to be that serious of an illness. This is true in most cases; however, serious cases do sometimes require hospitalization and can result in secondary infections, especially in newborns, adolescents, and adults.
To explore the risk of not vaccinating children against varicella, researchers conducted a case-control study of 626 children between 1998 and 2008. There were 133 cases of the varicella virus and 493 controls that did not get the disease. Five percent of those patients who had gotten varicella had refused the vaccine, whereas 0.6% of the controls had refused it. This study found that refusal of the varicella vaccine led to a nine-fold increased risk of contracting the virus that was serious enough to warrant medical care compared to the vaccinated children.