POX STRIKES BACK

Doctors now recommend that kids get a second dose of chickenpox vaccine, but a lot of wary parents are balking. A recent study concluded that the longer patients had gone since getting the first dose, the more likely they were to contract the pox, and the more likely that it would be a moderate or severe case.

Some parents still prefer to expose their kids when they’re young—to avoid serious cases later—by bringing them to special “chickenpox parties.” But  the vaccine itself has altered the playing field. Dr. Robert Steele says, “"You're not likely going to run into somebody with chickenpox ... so you might as well protect them at the earliest possible time." (More health care stories.)