Health and Social Services Minister Mildred Dover announced today that beginning in April 2000, the province will make a new vaccine available to protect Island children from getting chicken pox.
PEI is the first province to announce a universal, province-wide program to immunize all children against chicken pox when they reach their first birthday.
"We are very pleased to make this new program available to Island families," said the minister. "Having a child with chicken pox can be a very difficult time, and long-term complications from the disease can be serious. These types of immunization programs provide us with more health and cost benefits than any other prevention programs."
Beginning in April 2000, all children will receive the one-time vaccination at 12 months of age. Once the program is fully implemented, the Department expects to immunize about 1500 children per year.
School clinics will be held from February to June, 2000 to provide the vaccine to all children now in Grades one to six who have not had chicken pox. Approximately 3000 children will receive the vaccine through these clinics.
An additional catch-up program will be announced later to immunize children 12 months of age to Grade one who have not had chicken pox. The program will be offered at regional public health nursing offices. It is expected to include an additional 5000 children.
Minister Dover advised that the new program will add to the success of Prince Edward Island's childhood immunization programs which are highly recognized across the country. "Through the excellent service delivered by our public health nurses and the cooperation of parents, we have very high participation rates in our programs," said the minister. "And we have excellent outcomes, for example, there hasn't been a case of red measles reported in the province since 1992, and there hasn't been a case of HIB meningitis in five years, which at that time was the most common type of childhood meningitis."
Chief Health Officer Dr. Lamont Sweet advised that chicken pox is a very common contagious childhood disease which 95 percent of children will catch by the time they are 12 years of age. Usually the illness is not serious but the rash is aggravating and the child loses several days from day care or school.
"However, about one child in 20 who catches chicken pox will get a complication such as a skin infection, pneumonia, heart or liver infection or meningitis," said Dr. Sweet. "These children can become very ill. Each year some children are expected to die in Canada from chicken pox. Others will develop complications from the virus later in life such as shingles which can be very painful and last many months."
The new vaccine results in over 95% protection from the disease in children who receive it. It will cost $58 per dose. New deep-freeze units must be purchased for all public health nursing offices to handle the vaccine which must be stored at minus eighteen degrees.