FOX NEWS - PITTSBURGH October 19, 2001 — Connie Shoemaker doesn't try to give goody-bags to the kids who attend parties at her house. She tries to give them chickenpox.

Shoemaker and other parents skeptical of the relatively new vaccine for the disease are throwing "chickenpox parties," inviting healthy children to mingle with infected ones so the youngsters will catch chickenpox and gain lifetime immunity.

"It's a natural way to deal with the problem instead of introducing more chemicals into kids," Shoemaker said.

Shoemaker said she is not against all vaccines, and has had her children protected against other diseases through vaccinations. But she said she is not sure the chickenpox vaccine, which is only 6 years old, really protects people for life. By contracting the disease naturally, she maintained, people can avoid more serious complications from chickenpox when they are adults.

"To me, I wanted to deal with the known factor, not the unknown factor," said Shoemaker, who also home-schools her children.

The idea of holding get-togethers to spread non-fatal illnesses is nothing new. Such gatherings have been around for years, even before the chickenpox vaccine. Parents knew their children would eventually get the measles, or the mumps, and wanted to get it over with at their convenience.

Health officials, however, discourage such gatherings.

Chickenpox is usually no more serious than fever and itchy spots, but there are risks, particularly for adults. The disease can cause swelling of the brain, pneumonia and skin infections in children and adults, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians.

"I think there has been a general misconception that chickenpox is a benign disease," said Dr. Karin Galil, an infectious-disease specialist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

Before the introduction of the vaccine, chickenpox killed 100 people annually and hospitalized 5,000 to 9,000. Galil said the vaccine is safe and up to 95 percent effective against mild to serious strains, adding that those who do contract chickenpox despite being vaccinated develop less severe cases.

People who get chickenpox are usually immune for life, but a small number get the disease more than once. Galil said the CDC believes the vaccine will last a lifetime, citing research in Japan that indicates it has protected people for 25 years so far. Doctors say serious reactions are rare.

Last month, Shoemaker sent her three children to the house of a friend whose child was infected with chickenpox, hoping they would catch the highly contagious virus. They did, and since then, Shoemaker, who lives in Butler about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh, has thrown three of her own chickenpox parties.

Two weeks ago, Tammy Swanberg, 38, took two of her children, ages 3 and 5, to one of Shoemaker's chickenpox parties. As of Wednesday, they had not developed any symptoms. "I think that vaccines can have their place, but sometimes I think our society just abuses them," Swanberg said.

Some of those who choose intentional infection are leery of vaccines in general or cite religious reasons.

Barbara Loe Fisher, president of the National Vaccine Information Center in Vienna, Va., said she founded the group after her son suffered brain damage from a reaction to a vaccine for another disease. Fisher said parents should have the right not to have their children vaccinated.

About half of all states now require the chickenpox vaccine for schoolchildren. Next year, the vaccination — or proof of having had chickenpox — will be required in Pennsylvania schools.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,36816,00.html ]