Kids in Wisconsin schools and childcare centers will now only be exempt from the chickenpox vaccine if a previous case was confirmed by a healthcare provider.
Dr. Ryan Westergaard is chief medical officer with the Bureau of Communicable Diseases. “There’s less general knowledge of what a chickenpox illness looks like. As times have changed it’s important to make sure. And so the rationale for having the providers test of a qualified health provider is to make sure that we’re making decisions based on the best best information.”
The state Department of Health Services has new immunization updates for children, which follow federal recommendations and other states to protect communities against vaccine-preventable diseases. You can view a summary of the updates here.