February 24, 2000 * Health and Social Services [to Nov 2005]School clinics to administer the new chickenpox vaccine will be held February 28 and 29 at West Prince elementary schools. Public health nurses will be holding clinics on Monday, February 28 at Ellerslie Consolidated, O'Leary Elementary and Bloomfield Elementary schools. Clinics will be Tuesday, February 29th at Alberton Elementary, St. Louis Elementary and Tignish Elementary schools. The vaccine will be administered to children in grades one to six who have not had the chickenpox. There is no charge to receive the vaccine, but consent forms are required. These are one- time clinics for this vaccine, and they will not be offered in the schools again. The Department of Health and Social Services encourages parents to have their children immunized against chickenpox before they become adults. Chickenpox results in complications in one in 20 people who become ill with the disease and can result in birth defects if a mother catches the illness during pregnancy. Media Contact: Lamont Sweet