Chicken Pox Parties? Ummm…

The New York Post reports that some parents are encouraging their children to get sick (Chicken Pox, specifically) in order to avoid the requirement to have their children vaccinated (recently linked to autism), which is a requirement before entering Kindergarden in New York State:

Since 1999, kindergartners entering school in New York state must have had either the virus or the varicella vaccine, which protects against both chicken pox and shingles. But with recent public controversy concerning a possible link between vaccines and autism, some parents are turning to pox parties to protect their kids—by making them sick. “Measles, mumps, whooping cough…I’m worried about those diseases, so my daughter has had those vaccines. Chicken pox is a joke,” says Angie of why she refuses to get Samantha vaccinated.

But not everyone is partying over this. Trom the article, pediatricians don’t think this is such a great idea:

“Chicken pox parties are a terrible mistake,” says Dr. Anne Gershon, professor of pediatrics at Columbia University and president of the Infectious Disease Society of America. “Imagine how you would feel if you took your kid to one and they came down with encephalitis or group A strep. Most of the time chicken pox is a mild disease, but you can die from the complications.”

Is this a smart idea?

[hat tip: lilsugar]

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