Varicella Vaccine: Two Shots of Chickenpox Vaccine Better Than One

(CBS) Parents have been getting their children vaccinated for chickenpox for decades. And for the most part it's been working, but new research shows that two doses of varicella vaccine are actually better than one.

According to a study of national medical records, a single vaccine dose is 86 percent effective against chickenpox. Two doses are 98.3 percent effective.

The researchers, led by Dr. Eugene D. Shapiro of Yale University, also looked at kids who had come down with chickenpox in Connecticut. According to a HealthDay report of the study, of the 71 kids identified with the virus, 7 percent hadn't been vaccinated at all and 93 percent had received one vaccination. There were no cases of a child receiving two vaccinations and coming down with symptoms.

The studies back up what the Centers for Disease Control has been recommending since 2006 - two jabs instead of one.

Anyone who has had chickenpox, can easily recall the itchy blisters, dehydration and miserable quarantine. In rare cases, chickenpox can even cause death. It all makes the idea of getting two shots sound not so bad after all.

The research is published in the February, 2011 issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases.