chickenpox parties
Intentional childhood infection events
Chickenpox parties are gatherings where parents deliberately expose their unvaccinated children to a child infected with chickenpox, hoping to induce immunity through infection rather than vaccination.
The practice was more common before the varicella vaccine became available in the 1990s: My mom took me to a chickenpox party when I was six.
Medical authorities discourage the practice due to risks of complications.
- pox partyPlanned disease exposure event
- get it over withComplete an unpleasant task promptly
- natural immunityAcquired resistance through exposure
- spotsDetects or marks
- varicellaBlister-causing viral infection
disease · virus · herd immunity · contagious · childhood disease · childhood illness · illness · immune system · outbreaks · infection · shingles · anti-vaccine · secondary infection · herpesvirus · vaccine-preventable · antibodies · rash · itching
chickenpox partiesvaccination
Administered immunity booster
immunization · preventive medicine · inoculation · disease prevention · prophylaxis
chickenpox partiesrisk aversion
Preference for certainty
precautionary principle · harm reduction · infection control · social distancing
chicken, chickens, chickenpox, parties, partied, partying, partygoer, partygoers