Chickenpox Vaccine Slashes Virus by 90 Percent

For anyone not born within the past couple of decades, however, chickenpox may seem less of a scourge and more of a rite of passage. Childhood memories of the scaly, red scabs, the itchy bumps and the smell of calamine lotion are common even among the 30-something set.

Infectious disease experts say the chickenpox vaccine has helped cut the number of cases of the viral illness by 90 percent.

(ABCNews Photo Illustration)

But Mark Slifka, associate scientist at the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute at the Oregon Health and Science University, says the very fact that most young Americans have been spared these unpleasant memories is a victory in and of itself.

"This is really quite an achievement," he says. "In just one generation, we have changed chickenpox from a virus that nearly every child had to suffer, to a virus that is causing only a handful of infections."

The benefits may not be just for the younger set. King says varicella infection is particularly hard on adolescents and adults. And even if parents don't catch the disease themselves, many may face an unenviable juggling act when it comes to balancing their work with caring for a child who will likely be sick for about seven days.

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"I am ... amazed how economists do not place much of a financial value on a week's missed school, which is common," King says.

Parents, too, may lack concern over the potential health and financial implications of the illness. Some still adhere to the tradition of "chickenpox sleepovers," in which non-infected children are exposed to infected children in order to expose them to the illness, in essence allowing parents to plan for when their kids fall ill and subsequently develop chickenpox immunity.

"It is irresponsible for parents to purposefully expose their children to a wild-type virus when there is a vaccine available," Slifka says. "The vaccine is a vastly weaker strain of the same virus, and therefore much safer and with fewer side effects or disease complications."

"The chickenpox party is very 'old school,'" Freed says. "The key is having parents understand they can prevent disease.

"Even if the risk of hospitalization and death is relatively low, their children no longer need to experience the discomfort and suffering that is associated with chickenpox."