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Why Some Vaccines Work Better
While others are less effective
When I was a little girl, I was taught that people who had chicken pox and recovered developed a natural immunity. Since I got it when I was 8, I’d be immune for the rest of my life. I later learned this is not universally true, but exceptions are rare.
This was before the chicken pox vaccine came out in 1995. In some countries, parents still do not vaccinate their children as the fatality rate is considered low — only 1 in 100,000 for children under 14 years, though among adults 21/100,000 die.
I also remember reading Little Women as a girl. In the book, when Beth got scarlet fever, Jo and Meg were able to nurse her but Amy had to be sent away. That is because the two older girls had already had the disease and recovered, so they were naturally immune from catching it again. Amy, however, was vulnerable.
Children fortunately no longer die from scarlet fever. It is a bacterial infection and can be treated by antibiotics. Chicken pox, on the other hand, is caused by a virus.
While not everyone agrees that vaccination is necessary for chicken pox, there is a similar disease called smallpox for which there was a massive, worldwide vaccination campaign. Smallpox killed 30% of those it infected. If someone recovered from the disease, they would…
