Varicella (Chickenpox) vaccine side-effects

What are the risks from chickenpox vaccine?

A vaccine, like any medicine, is capable of causing serious problems, such as severe allergic reactions. The risk of chickenpox vaccine causing serious harm, or death, is extremely small.

Getting chickenpox vaccine is much safer than getting chickenpox disease. Most people who get chickenpox vaccine do not have any problems with it. Reactions are usually more likely after the first dose than after the second.

Mild Problems

  • Soreness or swelling where the shot was given (about 1 out of 5 children and up to 1 out of 3 adolescents and adults)
  • Fever (1 person out of 10, or less)
  • Mild rash, up to a month after vaccination (1 person out of 25). It is possible for these people to infect other members of their household, but this is extremely rare.

Moderate Problems

  • Seizure (jerking or staring) caused by fever (very rare).

Severe Problems

  • Pneumonia (very rare)

Other serious problems, including severe brain reactions and low blood count, have been reported after chickenpox vaccination. These happen so rarely experts cannot tell whether they are caused by the vaccine or not. If they are, it is extremely rare.

This information was taken directly from the Varicella VIS Adobe Acrobat print-friendly PDF file [PDF - 43KB]
(This information taken from Varicella VIS dated 3/13/08. If the actual VIS is more recent than this date, the information on this page needs to be updated.)

Who Needs to be Vaccinated?  

All children and adults without evidence of immunity to varicella need the vaccine. Evidence of immunity includes any of the following:

  • Documentation of two doses of varicella vaccine
  • Blood tests that show you are immune to varicella or laboratory confirmation of prior disease
  • Born in the United States before 1980, excluding health-care workers, pregnant women, and immunocompromised persons.  These individuals need to meet one of the other criteria for evidence of immunity.  
  • Receipt from a healthcare provider of a) a diagnosis of chickenpox or b) verification of a history of chickenpox
  • Receipt from a healthcare provider of a) a diagnosis of herpes zoster (shingles), or b) verification of a history of herpes zoster (shingles).

You do NOT need the chickenpox vaccine, if you meet any of the above criteria for evidence of immunity.