Chickenpox

Doctors are hoping to prevent even more cases of chickenpox by urging that children routinely get two shots against varicella instead of just one. Recommendations released last week by the American Academy of Pediatrics call for children to get a second dose of the varicella vaccine between the ages of 4 and 6. Previous guidelines from the national group called for 1-year-olds to receive a single dose of the vaccine against varicella, the virus that...

The Baltimore County Department of Health will hold an immunization clinic from 9 a.m. to noon tomorrow at the Woodlawn Health Center, 1811 Woodlawn Drive, for students who haven't had their required shots. No appointment is necessary and immunizations are free. Parents must show a copy of their child's immunization record for the walk-in clinic. The 2008-2009 school year immunization requirements include chickenpox and hepatitis B vaccination for children entering preschool programs through 11th grade.

Some Maryland children might need to roll up their sleeves for a few more vaccinations before school begins next fall. By Sept. 1, pupils entering prekindergarten to ninth grade will have to show records to prove their immunity to hepatitis B and varicella, more commonly known as chickenpox. Preschoolers will also need a pneumococcal vaccine that protects against bacterial meningitis, blood infections and common ear infections. In Maryland, vaccinations are covered by most insurance plans, or children could go to immunization clinics held by local health departments; Baltimore County has scheduled clinics for this month.

With days to go before the start of school, thousands of students in Baltimore lack required immunizations, a number that, though far lower than at the corresponding time last year, has city school officials scrambling. Nearly 3,500 students in prekindergarten through 10th grade lack required immunizations, said Tom DeWire, the city school system's SchoolStat director. DeWire is optimistic that the stragglers - including more than 2,100 high school students who need to complete the hepatitis B and chickenpox vaccinations that the state requires for all students through 10th grade - will be reached.

Some Maryland students were sent home from school this week while thousands more face a dwindling grace period to get up to date on chickenpox and hepatitis B vaccinations. New regulations, which affect mostly sixth- through ninth-graders, included a Jan. 1 deadline that required schools to exclude those who have not received the vaccines or, in the case of chickenpox, have not documented when they had the illness. Many students are taking advantage of a 20-day window in which they can attend classes if they show they have an appointment to get their shots.

Even after school officials told Danielle Fishback, 14, that she would have to get vaccinations for chickenpox and hepatitis B or she wouldn't be allowed to return to Wilde Lake High School after winter break, she hesitated at the thought of the needles. "I didn't want to take it. I was scared," she said. "During winter break, I didn't think about it." Fishback, a ninth-grader who lives in Columbia, was one of thousands of Maryland students who missed school this week for failing to comply with new regulations requiring schools to exclude students who hadn't received the vaccines.

With days to go before the start of school, thousands of students in Baltimore lack required immunizations, a number that, though far lower than at the corresponding time last year, has city school officials scrambling. Nearly 3,500 students in prekindergarten through 10th grade lack required immunizations, said Tom DeWire, the city school system's SchoolStat director. DeWire is optimistic that the stragglers - including more than 2,100 high school students who need to complete the hepatitis B and chickenpox vaccinations that the state requires for all students through 10th grade - will be reached.

Twenty-four hours after the Food and Drug Administration announced its long-awaited approval of a vaccine against chickenpox, Sherry Moyer spotted two suspicious red blisters on her son Robert's neck.By the following day, Robert, 6, was covered with red lesions -- the telltale badge of chickenpox -- and his mother resigned herself to a tedious, week-long confinement in the Moyers' rural Baltimore County home."You kind of wonder why you're in the wrong place at the wrong time," says Mrs. Moyer, who gladly would have opted for the new vaccine.

A new vaccine to prevent painful attacks of shingles in people 60 and older has received federal approval and is expected to be on the market in about a week. The Food and Drug Administration announced yesterday that it has cleared the way for Merck & Co. to begin shipping the vaccine, called Zostavax. A five-year study showed it can protect about half the people who get it from developing shingles, a rash that can lead to a more devastating painful condition, post-herpetic neuralgia. As many as 1 million Americans develop shingles each year, according to the National Institutes of Health, and about 20 percent of them progress to post-herpetic neuralgia, which can cause excruciating pain for months or years.

The Baltimore County Department of Health will hold an immunization clinic from 9 a.m. to noon tomorrow at the Woodlawn Health Center, 1811 Woodlawn Drive, for students who haven't had their required shots. No appointment is necessary and immunizations are free. Parents must show a copy of their child's immunization record for the walk-in clinic. The 2008-2009 school year immunization requirements include chickenpox and hepatitis B vaccination for children entering preschool programs through 11th grade.

The chickenpox vaccine has not been a slam-dunk success. With some people, it hasn't scored any points at all. The varicella vaccine was introduced in the United States in 1995 as a single shot given to children ages 12 months to 18 months, and by many accounts, the program has been effective. A generation of children has been vaccinated against chickenpox, and cases of the disease have dropped by 85 percent since 1995. Deaths from severe cases of the disease fell from 124 in 1994 to 26 in 2001.

Baltimore school officials are appealing to clergy to help spread the message that students have one week left to receive chickenpox and hepatitis B immunizations before they'll be shut out of school. About 6,500 city students in fifth through ninth grades have not submitted proof that they have received the vaccinations. As of Jan. 22, students will not be allowed back to school without immunization records.

Doctors are hoping to prevent even more cases of chickenpox by urging that children routinely get two shots against varicella instead of just one. Recommendations released last week by the American Academy of Pediatrics call for children to get a second dose of the varicella vaccine between the ages of 4 and 6. Previous guidelines from the national group called for 1-year-olds to receive a single dose of the vaccine against varicella, the virus that...

Even after school officials told Danielle Fishback, 14, that she would have to get vaccinations for chickenpox and hepatitis B or she wouldn't be allowed to return to Wilde Lake High School after winter break, she hesitated at the thought of the needles. "I didn't want to take it. I was scared," she said. "During winter break, I didn't think about it." Fishback, a ninth-grader who lives in Columbia, was one of thousands of Maryland students who missed school this week for failing to comply with new regulations requiring schools to exclude students who hadn't received the vaccines.

Some Maryland students were sent home from school this week while thousands more face a dwindling grace period to get up to date on chickenpox and hepatitis B vaccinations. New regulations, which affect mostly sixth- through ninth-graders, included a Jan. 1 deadline that required schools to exclude those who have not received the vaccines or, in the case of chickenpox, have not documented when they had the illness. Many students are taking advantage of a 20-day window in which they can attend classes if they show they have an appointment to get their shots.

With tens of thousands of students facing suspension next month if they do not obtain newly required vaccinations, school systems across the state are going to extraordinary lengths to see that sixth- through ninth-graders are inoculated against hepatitis B and chickenpox. A state law that went into effect this year added students in grades six through nine to those who are required to have documentation from a physician that they have been immunized or have a blood test showing immunity.

With tens of thousands of students facing suspension next month if they do not obtain newly required vaccinations, school systems across the state are going to extraordinary lengths to see that sixth- through ninth-graders are inoculated against hepatitis B and chickenpox. A state law that went into effect this year added students in grades six through nine to those who are required to have documentation from a physician that they have been immunized or have a blood test showing immunity.

Baltimore school officials are appealing to clergy to help spread the message that students have one week left to receive chickenpox and hepatitis B immunizations before they'll be shut out of school. About 6,500 city students in fifth through ninth grades have not submitted proof that they have received the vaccinations. As of Jan. 22, students will not be allowed back to school without immunization records.

3,000 pupils lack vaccinations More than 3,000 pupils in Anne Arundel still need state-required vaccinations to avoid missing class time, school system officials said last week. Maryland requires chickenpox (varicella) and hepatitis B vaccinations for sixth- through ninth-graders. More than 92 percent of middle school pupils and 73 percent of ninth-graders have received them; 1,805 ninth graders and 1,285 middle school students have not, school and county health officials said. The school system plans to hold a meeting before the Jan. 2 deadline between principals and pupils needing the vaccinations.

A new vaccine to prevent painful attacks of shingles in people 60 and older has received federal approval and is expected to be on the market in about a week. The Food and Drug Administration announced yesterday that it has cleared the way for Merck & Co. to begin shipping the vaccine, called Zostavax. A five-year study showed it can protect about half the people who get it from developing shingles, a rash that can lead to a more devastating painful condition, post-herpetic neuralgia. As many as 1 million Americans develop shingles each year, according to the National Institutes of Health, and about 20 percent of them progress to post-herpetic neuralgia, which can cause excruciating pain for months or years.