Chicken Pox (Varicella)

College students without a history of chickenpox or prior immunization against it are recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American College Health Association (ACHA) to get vaccinated against the disease.

Chickenpox, or varicella, is a highly contagious childhood disease that can be severe in adults. It spreads from person to person by direct contact or through the air from an infected person’s coughing or sneezing or from aerosolization of the virus from skin lesions. A person with chickenpox is contagious 1-2 days before the rash appears and until all blisters have formed scabs. It takes 10-21 days after exposure for someone to develop chickenpox.

For more detail, see the CDC's Chickenpox Vaccine: What You Need to Know flyer.