I remember getting chickenpox as a child in the early ’80s. Due
to the highly infectious nature of chickenpox, all the kids in
the neighbourhood got it. None of our parents blinked an eyelash
because they knew that chickenpox was a harmless disease if
acquired during childhood with a very low risk of complications.
Before the introduction of the chickenpox vaccine in 1999 here
in Canada, it was fairly common for parents to hold “chickenpox
parties.” A chickenpox party involves the deliberate exposure of
children infected with the chickenpox virus to other children
who have not yet been exposed to the disease. Parents willingly
expose their children to the disease in order to grant their
children life-long immunity to chickenpox. These “chickenpox
party” parents know that chickenpox is a mild disease if
acquired during childhood, but infection is riskier when
acquired by teens or adults. Before the introduction of the
vaccine, chickenpox (varicella) was considered by almost
everyone to be a mild disease, and p