Children whose parents refuse to let them be vaccinated for chickenpox are nine times as likely as vaccinated children to develop chickenpox that requires medical attention, researchers reported Monday.
Although the conclusion may seem self-evident, it reflects a growing problem with childhood immunizations, said epidemiologist Jason M. Glanz of Kaiser Permanente's Institute for Health Research in Denver, the lead author of the report in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. Immunizations have been so successful, he said, that some parents are becoming more concerned about the risks of vaccines than they are about the illness.
"Vaccines are becoming victims of their own success," he said.
