Chicago Sun-Times Editorial - Rejects the Chicken Pox Vaccine Mandate

Friday, April 21, 2000
A Pox on 19th Shot

Chickenpox is a childhood disease that, for the overwhelming majority of sufferers, is not life-threatening. It itches, it makes children cranky, and it can mean that a parent will have to take time off from work. But unlike other diseases for which children receive vaccinations, chickenpox poses no long-lasting complications for most kids.

Children already are mandated by state law to take 18 immunizations. Adding another shot to that list for a disease that is not life-threatening is unnecessary. Parents should be given the option of deciding whether they want their children to receive the vaccine. Certainly, many parents will follow their doctor's advice on the subject and have their children vaccinated. But there will be other parents who, for whatever reason, would rather not have their child exposed to an additional vaccine.

The state's Immunization Advisory Committee voted 7-1 to recommend that the vaccine be mandatory, but the matter still must be approved by the Illinois Public Health Department. It should reject the recommendation.

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