# Can Chicken Pox be contracted, even if a person has had the vaccine? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 9, 2007, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-chicken-pox-be-contracted-even-if-a-person-has-had-the-vaccine/395193 "2007-03-09T00:56:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-chicken-pox-be-contracted-even-if-a-person-has-had-the-vaccine/395193/1 "2007-03-09T00:56:49Z")
My daughter (age 2 1/2) has about 10 red spots on her face, and a few of them are raised…they look suspiciously like Chicken Pox to me, but she has been vaccinated for it. Is it possible that she has a mild case of it? She has no other symptoms, or spots anywhere else on her body. I have called the doctor’s office about it, and am waiting for them to get back to me. In the meantime, I’m just trying to figure out if it’s at all likely that Chicken Pox is the cause of it. Can anyone help? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-chicken-pox-be-contracted-even-if-a-person-has-had-the-vaccine/395193/2 "2007-03-09T00:58:54Z")
It’s possible; the vaccine is not perfect. You can even get chicken pox twice – the first time around doesn’t always immunize you. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-chicken-pox-be-contracted-even-if-a-person-has-had-the-vaccine/395193/3 "2007-03-09T01:01:52Z")
[QUOTE=Sarahfeena] Is it possible that she has a mild case of it? . Can anyone help? [/QUOTE] Yes. It’s not 100% effective, although kids who get vaccinated and later get an infection tend to have mild cases. [CNN.com - Doctors look at chicken pox vaccine effectiveness - Feb. 23, 2004](http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/parenting/02/18/chickenpox.reut/index.html) [http://www.cdc.gov/nip/vaccine/varicella/faqs-gen-vaccine.htm#8-effective](http://www.cdc.gov/nip/vaccine/varicella/faqs-gen-vaccine.htm#8-effective) ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-chicken-pox-be-contracted-even-if-a-person-has-had-the-vaccine/395193/4 "2007-03-09T01:07:53Z")
I should have figured that there’s always a possibility…at least if she does have it, it is very mild. Whatever it is isn’t making her sick, and it doesn’t appear to itch at all. I remember it itching so bad I wanted to run out of my skin! ---
**Author:** ![edwino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@edwino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwino)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-chicken-pox-be-contracted-even-if-a-person-has-had-the-vaccine/395193/5 "2007-03-09T01:25:37Z")
Chicken pox lesions look like “dewdrops on a rose petal”, as in small vesicles (blisters) on a red base. They tend to burst and crust over. Last I heard, there was around a 12% breakthrough rate with the chicken pox vaccine. ---
**Author:** ![WishIHadACoolName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a587f6/32.png) [@WishIHadACoolName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WishIHadACoolName)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-chicken-pox-be-contracted-even-if-a-person-has-had-the-vaccine/395193/6 "2007-03-09T02:29:08Z")
My son was vaccinated sometime around his first birthday. Last May, he got the pox (he was 8 at the time). While putting the requisite Calamine on him, we decided to count the pox. We stopped when we counted 250 pox. Yes, you can still get the pox even if vaccinated.