04-11-2009, 01:21 PM
rz wrote: I went and got the chicken pox vaccine. This is NOT the same as the shingles vaccine. It's actually a series of two shots, and it is not a live vaccine.
The shingles vaccine is the same as the LIVE VACCINE for chickenpox. It is a weakened virus grown from the chickenpox virus that commonly infects children.
http://www.rxlist.com/zostavax-drug.htm
Adults and adolescents who have not previously been infected or inoculated get two shots of the LIVE chickenpox VACCINE because studies have shown that one dose of the LIVE VACCINE is seldom effective against chickenpox once a person approaches physical maturity.
More information than you need about the chickenpox vaccine:
http://www.fda.gov/FDAC/features/795_chickpox.html